Fated To Survive
by ComicNerdForLife
Summary: Two are in Tartarus. Four are traveling to the Door. All six will have to fight for everything they love. None of them are prepared for the trials to come. (Sequel to Fated To Save - Book Two of Three -)
1. Prologue

**Happy Thanksgiving! I'm actually posting this the night before since I'm going to be _ridiculously_ busy tomorrow. So, here you all go! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family! And for all of my readers who don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you had a wonderful day with your family regardless!**

(Ethan POV)

It had been two days since Charlie and Silena had jumped into Tartarus and Percy, Annabeth, Piper, and Jason still hadn't forgiven the four cousins yet.

The fight they'd all gotten into just minutes after the two legacies jumped still burned brightly in Ethan's brain.

(Flashback)

 _Ethan's jaw hurt from the amount of force he was using to keep it clenched. He knew that the moment he let off the pressure the tears would fall, and he couldn't cry, not yet at least._

 _He pulled himself up onto the ship, everyone ignoring him in favor of scrambling around to secure everything for a hasty retreat. He walked over to his cousins, who were staring at him with pale faces. He nodded his head, letting them know that Charlie and Silena had jumped. Emily and Zack hugged each other tightly while Lily's shoulders began to shake, tears pooling in her eyes._

 _"Hey," Ethan spoke, wincing at how rough his voice was. "They made their choice, now we need to back them up."_

 _The three of them nodded, visibly pulling themselves together. Lily crept over to the helm while Ethan and the terrors walked over to the parents. Percy and Annabeth were down in the sickbay while Leo worked Jason and Frank to get the Athena Parthenos packed tightly into the stables. Coach Hedge had taken the little ones down to the mess hall to feed and distract them. Nico, Piper, and Hazel were the only 'adults' on deck._

 _"Ethan," Piper said, distracted, "where are Charlie and Silena?"_

 _Ethan took a shaky breath. "They aren't coming back up, Aunt Piper."_

 _Piper looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"_

 _Zack stepped forward, Emily copying him on Ethan's other side. "I mean, they're not coming back up," Ethan repeated, shifting to a wider stance._

 _"Ethan Julian Ramirez-Arellano," Piper snapped, panic beginning to show in her voice. "What did you six do?"_

 _"We're completing our mission," Zack told her, clenching his fists tightly._

 _"What does that mean?" Hazel asked, eyes flickering between the three cousins._

 _Emily licked her lips nervously. "Mom, what did you all think fixing Tartarus meant?"_

 _"No," Piper whispered, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she shook her head in disbelief. "No, they didn't. They can't!"_

 _"I'm so sorry, Aunt Piper," Ethan said, closing his eyes in despair. He opened them again as he heard his aunt's anguished cry._

 _"NO!" Piper screamed, hugging herself tightly. "They wouldn't do that! They wouldn't do that!"_

 _Hazel hugged Piper, staring at the kids in horror. Nico's eyes widened as he realized what was going on, locking eyes with Zack intently. Zack stood up straight and stared back, expression completely blank as he laid his hand on the hilt of his sword._

 _Everyone was jolted as the Argo ll started ascending, pulling away from the entrance to Tartarus. Piper screamed in fury and made to sprint over to the helm, where Lily was sobbing as she directed the ship away from the parking lot. Ethan snapped his arms out and caught her, quickly pinning her to the floor. Hazel went to help her teammate, only for Emily to pull out her dagger and stand in front of her._

 _"I'm sorry, mom," the twelve-year-old said, sadness in her voice. "We promised to do this."_

 _"Emily," Hazel whispered, staring at her daughter with shock and a hint of betrayal in her eyes._

 _Emily just clutched her dagger tighter as tears fell from her eyes, Piper's angry yells a soundtrack to the pain inside. A pain Ethan shared as he forced his aunt's wrists to the floor and held them there, muttering apology after apology. Piper just bucked and kicked, begging Lily to go back._

 _"PLEASE!" Piper wailed, too distraught to use charmspeak on them. "Please, just go back!"_

 _Lily sobbed harder from her position at the helm as she did the opposite of what Piper was pleading for her to do. Ethan shifted to holding her wrists with one hand and covered her mouth, hating himself the entire time he overpowered his aunt._

 _Five heartbreaking minutes later, Ethan finally let go of Piper, stumbling off of her as if he were in physical pain. Emily put her dagger back in its holster and crumbled to the floor, sobs wracking through her body as she finally released all of her emotions from the past day. Hazel walked over to her and hugged her, rubbing her back and telling her everything was going to be okay as she blankly stared at nothing. Zack broke off his staring contest with Nico and walked over to Lily, both of them clinging to the other desperately. Nico had a permanent horrified look on his face._

 _Ethan just numbly sat down and stared off into space as one sentence rolled through his brain._

 _'How could you do this to your family, you bastard.'_

(End Flashback)

Annabeth, Percy, and Jason had reacted in much the same way. Annabeth had threatened, pleaded, and begged for it not to be true, for them to be lying. Percy and Jason had both screamed in anger and threw fits, lightning crackling through the sky while the wind raged and anything remotely liquid exploded violently as the waves crashed into the shore harshly.

The two couples had refused to do more than glare at them for the past forty-eight hours. Ethan couldn't blame them. He had a constant ball of self-hatred and pity rolling around in his stomach, preventing him from eating. The other three were in similar states as him.

Zack would do nothing but lie in his bunk while Emily was constantly crying and throwing up. Lily hadn't slept and stayed completely silent, not saying a single word to anyone, even Leo.

Frank, Hazel, and Leo were desperately trying to keep the crew moving toward Epirus, but nothing seemed to be working, especially since they had dropped the little ones off with Cythos and her warriors. Their allies had fiercely promised to protect the kids and get them to Camp Half-Blood. Ethan had gotten a grainy Iris Message from Will earlier today, letting him know that the kids had arrived safely. Will had been holding a giggly Gemma and looked so in love with the little girl that Ethan had almost smiled at the picture.

Now, though, everyone was seated in the mess hall. Jason and Percy were glaring daggers while Piper and Annabeth looked like wrecks. Leo, Hazel, and Frank looked nervous as the four cousins had carefully constructed blank faces. Nico silently stood in the corner of the room, observing the scene.

Hazel hesitantly opened her mouth to say something only for Percy to explode.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP THEM?!" Percy bellowed, glaring hotly at Ethan, who merely raised a disinterested eyebrow. It was all that he was willing and able to give as a response.

"Because," Zack snapped, his self-control nonexistent, "if we didn't help them, then they'd do it by themselves! And gods only know what trouble that would bring!"

Jason growled at that. "You should've told us the plan so that we could keep them from doing something so STUPID!"

"And what would that accomplish?" Ethan asked dryly, narrowing his eyes. "I'll tell you what, nothing! Our entire mission would be a bust!"

"WHO CARES!" Annabeth hollered, grey eyes darkening dangerously. "My son and my niece are in Tartarus! I don't care about anything else."

"Well," Zack said sarcastically, "aren't you selfish?"

Annabeth's hackles rose as she stared angrily at Zack. "What was that?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"I said, you're selfish," Zack repeated, unafraid.

"How dare you!" the blonde seethed, clenching her fists.

"How dare _you_!" Zack yelled right back, pushing himself out of his chair as he gestured wildly. "This is the job, people! We fight monsters, we go to terrifying, deadly places, and we save the world. Don't tell me you haven't realized that yet? We don't get to say ' _no, I don't feel like fighting._ ' There is no choice! We live and we die as demigods! Godly blood runs though our veins! Charlie and Silena made the choice to be brave, to save the world. Do you honestly think we could've stopped them? Do you honestly think they would've listened?"

Zack breathed heavily as he finished his rant, staring down all of the parents before spinning on his heels and stalking out the door. Ethan let out a sigh before standing up as well, Lily and Emily mirroring him.

"They did it to protect the family. Your family. The least you can do is respect that decision instead of assigning blame," was all he said before he walked out the door, the two girls on his heels.

They walked into the engine room and sat next to Zack, who was crying into his knees. Ethan wrapped his arms around the barely thirteen-year-old, feeling Lily do the same on Zack's other side while Emily curled into Ethan's side. It was silent, with the exception of Zack's haggard breathing.

"We're gonna be okay," Ethan whispered, blinking back the burn of his own tears. "Everything's going to be okay."

 **Hello everyone! Welcome to Fated To Survive, the sequel to Fated To Save! If you're new to my story, welcome! And if you're from my previous story, welcome back!**

 **Fated To Survive is going to follow House of Hades, so if you recognize the events going on, that's why.**

 **Brief summary for Fated To Save, Charlie Jackson, Silena Grace, Ethan** **Ramirez-Arellano, Lily Valdez, Zack di Angelo, and Emily Zhang all went to the past to do their quest alongside their parents younger selves. The quest is to 'fix' Tartarus, Gaea made a backup plan while opening the Doors of Death and now the kids have to close it up.**

 **While getting to Rome, they ran into numerous problems, one being Payton Lewis. She kidnapped the kids' younger siblings and followed them into the past. She continually screwed with the six of them and caused chaos.**

 **Silena and Charlie jumped into Tartarus in place of Percy and Annabeth. They have to fix Tartarus, screw with Gaea as much as possible, and close the Doors of Death while getting the hell outta dodge.** **Topside, Ethan, Lily, Zack, and Emily are riding with their parents to Epirus to get to Silena and Charlie.**

 **All caught up now? Cool.**

 **See you next time, Comic out!**


	2. Ethan I

**I'm back! Hello all, I'm sorry this chapter took so long to write. The holiday season is kicking my ass, not to mention that my mother got a new puppy that's barely 9 weeks old. If you don't know, puppies are a lot of work. Oh, and I also broke up with my boyfriend before Thanksgiving (He ignored me for two months and then acted surprised when I called to break up with him, the asshole) so I've just been a tad bit busy. Thank god for fanfiction otherwise I would be losing my mind. Anyway, that's all of my excuses out of the way so enjoy the chapter!**

 **Oh! Also I've got a poll up on my profile asking who your favorite OC is, please go take it!**

 **This is placed in the first chapter of HoH, btw.**

 **Also thanks to** Athenian-Ravenclaw-In-A-TARDIS, Bunny's daughter, Corin Wolfkin, DarkHero12, LovePercabeth4eva, RosettaQueen20, as9414413, geupard12, moonwolf0093, hannahpjoleonard, ZebraGirl202, aaquater, EspeonAuraGirl55, RosettaQueen20, BRINK555, flora writer, **for following and favoriting this story!**

(Ethan)

Ethan never thought that dodging boulders is what he would be doing with his life, but here he was.

"Hard to port!" Nico yelled from the foremast of the flying ship.

At the helm, Leo yanked the wheel. Lily, right beside him, clung to the control console, her knuckles white. Ethan moved on instinct when he saw Hazel peer over the railing. He grabbed her by the waist and threw them both to the ground, the boulder whistling past their heads.

 _CRACK!_

Ethan lifted his head from the floor and winced. The foremast had collapsed, bringing Nico down along with it. The son of Hades tumbled out of the bird's nest, rolling onto his back, stopping painfully.

Hazel pushed Ethan off of her. "Nico!" she yelled worriedly as she ran over to him.

Ethan stumbled to his feet as Leo leveled the ship. Emily burst out of the stairwell with Zack on her heels, tripping over a stray piece of wood. Hazel helped Nico up as he muttered, "I'm fine."

Ethan reached his cousins, bracing Zack as he swayed dangerously. The poor boy had barely gotten any sleep since Charlie and Silena had jumped into Tartarus. Zack's dark blue eyes were bloodshot while his black hair was greasy and tangled. Ethan mentally growled; the only reason Zack was this bad was because of Percy and Jason.

Annabeth and Piper had come to Ethan a day after their confrontation, wanting to know specifically what Charlie and Silena had planned. After Ethan had told them the plan the two women had promptly burst into tears before giving out apologies. Percy and Jason, though, were both still furious, and refused to listen to their respective girlfriends. They gave the four cousins the cold shoulder, throwing glares at them whenever they saw them.

Ethan was sick of it.

So were Annabeth and Piper.

Both women had been refusing to talk to their boyfriends in retaliation, and when they did talk to them, it usually ended in a screaming match that left both sides fuming. Ethan had taken to hiding in the stables for cover. Lily hid in the engine room with her dad, while Frank, Emily, Hazel, Nico and Zack all avoided the mess hall as a whole and were usually on the deck.

Ethan shook his head and ignored his dark thoughts, instead grabbing Emily and Zack to pull them away from another boulder that was thrown in reply to Leo's explosive.

"Why are they attacking us?" Emily asked, ducking low.

Ethan shrugged. "Because we're here? I don't know."

Nico cut off their conversation with a shout towards Leo. "Get us out of here!"

Leo snarled insults towards the mountain gods that were attacking them as he did as Nico said. Emily pushed away from Ethan and Zack and stumbled over to Lily and Leo. Ethan placed his hand on Zack's shoulder, causing the younger boy to glance up at him.

"You okay?" Ethan asked, trying to mask his worry.

Zack nodded tiredly, impulsively looking toward Nico wistfully. Ethan clenched his jaw and pulled Zack into a side hug. Nico had been ignoring Zack's existence since he had been told the truth, even walking out of the room if Zack walked in. Ethan was about ready to smack the crap out of his uncle, even if the man was his godfather.

"Right," Ethan said, sighing. "Go get some sleep, alright?"

"But-" Zack protested, only for Ethan to cut him off.

"I could hide the _Argo_ _ll_ in the bags under your eyes, kid." Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Are you really telling me that you're not tired?"

Zack gave a petulant pout, conceding defeat. "Noooooooo."

Ethan rolled his eyes and shoved him towards the stairs. "Sleep. Then you can cause mischief, okay?"

"Fiiiiiiiiiiine," Zack grumbled, doing as he was told.

Ethan shook his head in amusement as he watched Zack drag his feet, hopping over the stray debris that was in his path. He caught Nico looking at Zack out of the corner of his eye. Ethan scowled darkly at him before moving over to Leo and the girls.

Dawn peeked at him over the clouds, giving off light and welcomed warmth. Ethan took a deep breath to calm down, basking slightly. For some reason, his emotions had been out of whack, more than they should be. He found himself being easily angered, which wasn't like him at all; usually, he was the one keeping everyone else's tempers in check.

He released the breath he had been holding in and focused on Leo.

"Well, _that_ was sucktastic," Leo glowered at nothing. "Should I wake the rest of the crew?"

Hazel bit her lip in thought before shaking her head. "They need rest. We'll have to figure out another way on our own."

Ethan felt relieved. The last thing he wanted right now was for Jason and Percy to come up and start picking a fight with him and the others. His temper was already balancing on the knife's edge. If anything set him off, he would explode.

"Huh," Leo said, turning his glare towards his console. "Another way. Do you see one?"

On his monitor glowed a map of Italy. Ethan crossed his arms, matching his uncle's glare. He didn't see how they were supposed to get out of this without waking up the others. Lily and Emily moved to stand on either side of him, resting their heads on his shoulders. Ethan gave them amused looks as he put his arms around them, comfortably resting around their waists.

Hazel and Leo bent over the console, throwing out destinations back and forth. One would point out a route and the other would instantly shoot it down by pointing out all the dangers.

Hazel eventually gave a frustrated sigh. "It's our fault," she admitted. "Nico's and mine. The _numina_ can sense us."

Ethan made a noise of agreement. "Not to mention Zack and Emily." He jostled Emily as he spoke her name, causing her to pick her head up and give him a glare for disrupting her comfortable position.

Nico nodded. "Earth spirits don't like children of the Underworld. That's true, even grandchildren of the Underworld are disliked heavily. We get under their skin - literally. But I think the _numina_ could sense the ship anyway. We're carrying the Athena Parthenos. That thing is like a magical beacon."

Ethan grimaced at the mention of the statue. He hated that thing; its magical power was always buzzing in the back of his mind, becoming just another thing that kept him up at night. It didn't help that his and Frank's shared room was close to the stables, where they had stored the gigantic ivory statue.

Leo traced his finger down the map of Italy. "So crossing the mountains is out. Thing is, they go a long way in either direction."

"We could go by sea," Hazel suggested. "Sail around the southern tip of Italy."

"That's a long way." Nico shook his head. "Plus, Percy's not exactly stable at the moment, after, uh, Charlie and Silena."

Silence fell across the six of them at the names of their two missing members. Ethan felt the now familiar rush guilt pass through him. He knew that they would survive, he knew they would. He just didn't know what shape the two of them would be in when they returned. Percy and Annabeth, Future Percy and Annabeth anyway, always said that while they would never regret closing the doors, they would always regret leaving Bob and Damasen behind. Percy especially.

Hell, before they got married, they broke up for little bit. Not for very long, it was barely two months, but they had agreed that they couldn't get married until both of them had dealt with their issues, separately. Both went to counseling and worked on their issues: survivor's guilt and PTSD, apparently. Five months later, they were out of counseling and were happily married, then the rest was history. Or at least, it would be.

Ethan always looked to Percy and Annabeth to how he wanted his relationships to go. They both knew each other's weaknesses and strengths, they moved around each other without looking, as if they always knew where the other was. They finished each other's sentences and thoughts.

The only people he had ever seen that were that close were Zack and Emily, Charlie and Silena, and him and Lily. But their closeness came from growing up together and only having each other. Percy and Annabeth's connection went deeper, as if their very souls were connected to each other. It amazed him, honestly.

"What about continuing north?" Hazel asked, breaking Ethan out of his thoughts. "There has to be a break in the mountains, or something."

Leo fiddled with the Archimedes sphere. Lily stepped out of Ethan's hold and started helping her dad configure the sphere into the appropriate setting. Ethan noticed Hazel eyeing the sphere worriedly, which he understood. As much as he trusted Lily and Leo, he knew sometimes things just went wrong.

Luckily, the sphere just grew a camera lens and projected a 3-D image of the Apennine Mountains above the console.

"I dunno." Leo put his hands on his hips as he examined the hologram. "I don't see any good passes to the north. But I like that idea better than backtracking south. I'm done with Rome."

No one argued with that. Everyone agreed that Rome had not been a good experience.

"Whatever we do," Nico said, "we have to hurry. Every day that Charlie and Silena are in Tartarus..." he trailed off.

Ethan swallowed before shaking his head. "Those two will be fine. They're like cockroaches, they just can't seem to die no matter what you do."

Lily snorted. "That's one way to put it," she muttered.

Nico scowled at the Italian countryside. "Maybe we should wake the others. This decision affects us all."

"No," Hazel said instantly. "We can find a solution." She drummed her fingers on the hilt of her sword in thought. "We need some creative thinking. Another way to cross those mountains, or a way to hide ourselves from the numina."

Nico sighed heavily. "If I was on my own, I could shadow-travel. But that won't work for an entire ship. And honestly, I'm not sure I have the strength to even transport myself anymore."

"And Zack is powerful, but not powerful enough to shadow-travel the entire _Argo_ _ll_ without help," Ethan admitted, shifting Emily to stand front of him so he could rest his chin on the top of her head.

Nico looked like he had been slapped. "He can shadow-travel?"

"Yup," Emily said dryly. "Maybe you would know that if you actually, I don't know, _talked to him_ instead of acting like he doesn't exist."

Nico flinched at the accusation as Ethan hid a vicious smile in Emily's bedhead. 'Looks like I'm not the only one annoyed with his BS.'

Leo cleared his throat awkwardly. "I could maybe rig up some kind of camouflage, like a smoke screen to hide us in the clouds."

Hazel ignored Leo as she stared off into the distance, eyes widening suddenly. "Arion."

"What?" Nico asked in confusion.

Leo let loose an excited whoop as the dust cloud that Ethan could finally see got closer. "It's her horse, man! You missed that whole part. We haven't seen him since Kansas!"

Hazel laughed happily, smiling brightly. "We have to meet him," she said. "He's here to help."

"Yeah, okay." Leo scratched his scalp. "But, uh, we talked about not landing the ship on the ground anymore, remember? You know, with Gaea wanting to destroy us and all."

"Just get me close and I'll use the rope ladder," Hazel said firmly. "I think Arion wants to tell me something."

Everyone scrambled around as Leo moved the ship closer to Arion. In three minutes, they were hovering a hundred feet above the ground while Hazel climbed down the ladder. The moment her feet hit the ground, she ran for her horse and hugged him.

"Awww," Emily said. "That's so cute."

Ethan gave her a glance. "You have never sounded more patronizing than you did in that moment."

"Rude," she grumbled, focusing on the scene below her as Ethan snickered.

"Hazel!" Nico hollered. "What's going on?"

"It's fine!" she shouted as she fed Arion a gold nugget. "Arion wants to take me somewhere."

Everyone exchanged slightly nervous looks; they had all seen the beginnings of a tornado over a small hill.

"Uh..." Leo pointed north. "Please tell me he's not taking you into that?"

Hazel followed Leo pointing and paled as she saw the storm. She looked back at the stallion and asked him a question that Ethan couldn't hear. Whatever the answer was, Ethan had a feeling Hazel regretted asking it as she seemed to sigh and climb onto the horse's back.

"I'll be okay!" she called up to the five of them. "Stay put and wait for me."

"Wait for how long?" Nico shouted. "What if you don't come back?"

"Don't worry, I will," she promised, avoiding the question.

She and Arion shot off like a rocket, heading straight for the growing tornado.

'Yeah,' Ethan thought sarcastically, 'this is gonna end just peachy.'

 **Whew, this chapter took forever to write, but it's done! And I've already gotten the first part of the next chapter written, which you'll be happy with as I'll be showing you what's going on with Charlie and Silena. Also! I've been working on my Avengers story called Heroes For Hire, you should go check it out, I promise it's sorta good. Also, also! Please go check out my deleted scenes fic for the FTS series called A Helping of Missing Moments if you want more fluff rather than angst in your life.** **Anyway, that's all for this chapter, it's about 12am as I finish this and send it off to my wonderful beta, aaquater. I'm tired.**

 **See ya next time! Comic out!**

EspeonAuraGirl55- _Yeah, there is a_ very _good reason why everyone reacted the way they did, you just won't know why for awhile. And don't forget, Charlie and Silena have a side mission for Tartarus, they didn't go to Tartarus just to save Percy and Annabeth the heartache. So, the two of them have a looooong trip ahead of them. Alright, that's all the hints I'm gonna give, thanks for reviewing and I'll see ya next time. P.s, how was Thanksgiving with your boyfriend? I hope you had a nice time._

Didi- _Hello! I had a very good Thanksgiving, thanks! I hope you had an excellent one as well! Hahaha, the depressingness will only last for a few chapter as I have a sneaky plot twist up my sleeve I don't think anyone will see coming. as for the overly dramatic reactions, there's a reason for that and it has to do with the plot twist that I just mentioned. The kids can't say much about the future because of unintended consequences, meaning if they let something slip that they shouldn't have then things might change in a very bad way. They're pissing the Fates off as it is. See ya!_

aaquater- _Yeaaaaaaah, nobody is very happy at the moment. However there_ is _a reason for it that you'll see later._

Guest- _!_

Guest (2)- _Aw thanks! I love you too!_

Trisha (Guest)- _I do actually plan on doing all three books. I'm glad you find Fated To Save interesting! I've got a few ideas planned that I think you will all like. Um, I think you misunderstood though, none of the cousins will be dating each other. They see each other as cousins, that all. I don't think I'll be putting romance in this story other than the Parents since I want this story to focus on the Kids and how they deal with being in the past. Thanks for reading!_


	3. Charlie I

**Hello all! It' s been a little bit since I updated, the holiday season has busy for me. I'm making this AN real quick cause I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy new year! And for all of you who don't celebrate it, I hope you had an excellent holiday with your loved ones regardless. Merry Christmas! (Also there is a little bit of Latin in this, I have no idea how to speak Latin at all so this is what google gave me, pls don't be mad if it doesn't make sense.)**

(Charlie)

His mother was right. Falling into Tartarus took forever.

Silena was still gripping his hand tightly but had a rather bored look on her face. Charlie could relate. After the first twenty minutes passed his badly concealed terror had faded rather abruptly. Now he was just waiting for them to reach the bottom, the air around them getting uncomfortably warm and humid.

Charlie moved his body shifting so that he was 'laying' on his stomach. Silena noticed and instantly copied him, looking slightly tired. Charlie decided to lean more toward the 'Jackson' side of his personality and tugged the brunette toward him, throwing them into a spin. Silena smiled and shook her head, saying something Charlie couldn't hear past the wind rushing in his ears.

"What?" Charlie yelled, a smirk on his face.

Silena just stuck her middle finger up at him with an amused look.

Charlie acted offended and gasped in horror, throwing a tearful look her way. Silena merely raised an unimpressed eyebrow before pointing straight down. Charlie glanced down and cursed mentally. He could finally see the ground and it was coming up to meet them fast. Charlie whipped his head around to see if there was any thing that could help them not die via hitting the ground so hard they turn into demigod pancakes.

He spotted a river ten feet away and yelled out triumphantly, wrapping his arm around Silena's waist as he _tugged_ on the river. The water rose up instantly, surrounding them to safely pull them into the river, bypassing the ground they were about to go _splat!_ on altogether.

The cold water shocked his body, almost making him involuntarily gasp. Freezing cold water surrounded them as Silena flailed next to him, gripping onto his shirt with her nails biting into his shoulder. Charlie kicked as hard as he could, trying desperately to get to the surface before the river sucked the strength right out of them.

 _Pointless,_ the river whispered to him. _Life is nothing but despair._

Charlie gritted his teeth and kicked harder. His strength was failing him even as they broke the surface. Silena gasped next to him, clinging to him for dear life.

"Pointless," she muttered. "Everything is pointless."

'It's the Cocytus,' Charlie thought grimly, 'just like Mom said, it sucked out all of the positivity you've ever had and made you feel nothing but misery.'

"Fuck that." Charlie replied sharply. "Our family still needs us. I'm not dying in a stupid river in Tartarus."

Silena blinked rapidly. "Our...family?"

Charlie nodded hurriedly, working twice as hard to keep him and Silena afloat. Silena was still holding on tightly but was slowly starting to help him. "Our family. Your parents, your baby brother, they need you. They need you to live."

Silena squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head wildly. Charlie bit the inside of his cheek and kicked his legs impossibly harder, starting to swim towards the shore that he finally spotted. Silena let out a shuddering breath and opened her eyes.

"Let's get the hell out of this gods forsaken river." Silena growled, smoothly shifting around to match Charlie.

The two of them worked hard as the river fought them the entire way. Charlie almost let himself be overtaken by the river only for Silena to slap him upside the head and order him to keep swimming. Finally, after what seemed like a decade, they hauled themselves onto the shore and just laid there. Charlie laid on his back and gasped for air, staring up into pitch black darkness. Silena was in a similar position, arms flung out carelessly as she panted.

"That was horrible." Silena said breathlessly.

"Hey," Charlie weakly argued. "It could be worse."

"How?" Silena gave him a disbelieving look.

Charlie shrugged. "It could be sewer water."

Silena went silent as she stared at him with an arched brow. Charlie threw her a pout and sat up, leaning back on his hands. He immediately jerked forward again as pain prickled at him, mostly in his palms. He looked down and groaned in frustration. The beach that they were laying on wasn't sand. It was jagged pieces of black-glass. Not to mention the air he was breathing was messing up his lungs, making him cough every fifth breath.

"This is a literal hell-hole." Silena muttered, carefully sitting up.

Charlie grunted, picking out the pieces of glass wedged in his palm. Blood slowly seeped out of the wound, making Charlie wince and shrug off his thankfully still intact backpack. Silena grabbed it out of his hand and dug into it, pulling out a small container filled with nectar. She opened it and carefully poured some onto his palm, screwing the cap back on tightly and putting it back in.

Charlie shook out his newly healed hand and pulled the bag back over his shoulders, slowly climbing to his feet. Silena followed him and stretched, her own bag securely on her back. Both of them glanced around their new surroundings in slight dismay.

It was almost pitch black with no light source that around that Charlie could see. There were a multitude of cliffs, drops and ugly pieces of rock that stuck up straight out of the ground.

He hated it. Immensely.

"This place sucks," Silena said next to him, a hardened look in her eyes.

Charlie snorted and nodded in agreement, getting in one last look before he took a deep breath and forced himself to focus. He nudged Silena to get her attention, earning the brunette's singular focus instantly.

"We need to get a move on. Do you have the stuff from Hecate?" he asked, starting feel antsy the longer they went without moving. Damned ADHD.

Silena nodded and dug into her backpack, pulling out a roadmap and opening it. She placed her finger in the dead center of it and started muttering in Latin. " _Invenire viam aut fare_."

The map started glowing faintly for a second before abruptly fading. Charlie gave an impressed hum as he watched the map change, the terrain shifting and morphing to show a completely different and new map. On the new map a path glowed brightly with two bright dots flashing at either end of the route. Silena gave a relieved breath.

"Thank the gods that worked." she said tiredly. "The spell turned this into a map of Tartarus, while also giving us a direct route to where we need to go."

"Gotta love magic," Charlie grinned ruefully.

Silena laughed and agreed. "Come on," she bumped his shoulder. "let's get a move on."

 _OoOoOoOoOoOo_

All in all, they made good time. You know, for a pair of legacies traversing through Tartarus, which was completely infested with monsters. Charlie and Silena had to take several breaks for nectar though, since the toxic air would make it hard to breath until they managed took a swig of nectar. Charlie was worried about the exposure to their lungs though, demigods needed to breath after all.

Getting down the cliff had been a challenge though. Charlie loved free climbing but he usually didn't have toxic air, soaked clothes, or bloodied hands to deal with when he went free climbing. Silena, the lucky duck, had managed to float most of the way down, leaving Charlie to scale down the cliff side alone while she surveyed the area.

Then they had walked along the river bank of the Phlegethon, which according to his mother, was Tartarus's version of ambrosia and nectar. Charlie never wanted to try it. Ever. As they walked, Charlie desperately cracked jokes, trying his hardest to keep his partners spirits up. Silena, thankfully, seemed to take notice and joined in.

Then it all went to shit.

It started when Charlie had picked up on faint voices coming from their left, about fifty feet behind them. He had instantly grabbed Silena's wrist and dragged her behind a conveniently placed boulder. The two of them waited with baited breath, praying that they wouldn't be found.

Footsteps echoed through the silent void as an irritated voice started talking.

"Soon?" the voice asked, sounding gravelly and painful.

"Oh my gods!" a second voice responded, sounding like a valley girl. "You guys are _totally_ annoying! I told you, it's like three _days_ from here."

Charlie and Silena shared confused looks as a chorus of growls and grumbles came from the group of monsters. Charlie silently peered over the boulder and his eyes widened involuntarily.

From what he could see there were at least five _empousai_ in the group, maybe more. He started cursing mentally as he ducked back down, giving Silena a frustrated look. She stared back at him with questioning one at his reaction. He mouthed ' _Empousai,'_ and she paled instantly. Charlie scowled and glanced back over the boulder as the monsters continued their argument.

"I wonder," said a third voice, just as gravelly and painful sounding as the first. "if perhaps you do not know the way, young one."

"Oh, shut your fang hole, Serephone," the second voice snapped back. "When's the last time _you_ escaped to the mortal world? I was there a few years ago. I know the way! Besides, _I_ understand what we're facing up there. You don't have a clue!"

"The Earth Mother did not make you boss!" shrieked a fourth voice.

More hissing, scuffling, and feral moans sounded throughout the group. Finally the one called Serephone yelled, "Enough." Everyone went quiet while the two legacies continued to spy on the monsters.

"We will follow for now," Serephone said warningly. "but if you do _not_ lead us well, if we learn you have _lied_ about the summons of Gaea-"

"I don't lie!" the valley girl yelled. "Believe me, I've got good reason to get into this battle. I have some enemies to devour, and you'll feast on the blood of heroes. Just leave a special morsel for me - the one named Percy Jackson."

'Uh-oh,' Charlie thought, exchanging wide eyed looks with Silena. 'That's not good.'

"Believe me," the valley girl implored. "Gaea has called us, and we're going to have _so_ much fun. Before this war is over, mortals and demigods will tremble at the sound of my name - Kelli!"

Charlie frowned in thought. The name sounded familiar but he just could tease the answer out of his mind. He glanced at Silena questioningly only for the brunette to shake her head at his silent question. 'Damn it,' he grumbled mentally as he watched the monsters walk off, their voices getting fainter and fainter.

Finally, they were able to rise out of their kneeling positions. Charlie scrubbed a hand through his still damp hair and stared off in the direction the group of monsters had gone in. He looked over at Silena and sighed, gesturing vaguely.

"Ladies first,"

 **Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!**

DarkHero12 - _Thanks! Since this is the halfway point for the series, I decided to stop pulling punches. Not that I was pulling that many to begin with. I'm glad Percabeth and Jiper are being appropriately written! One of my worst fears for this fic is that I make the original characters so OOC it's not even readable. Thanks! See ya next chapter! Merry Christmas!_

Guest (1) - _Thank you! And thanks for reading! Have a Merry Christmas!_

aaquater - _Got it in one! Charlie and Percy do have similar tempers, don't they? I think the only ways those kinds of bonds work is if they grow organically without any interference. See ya! Merry Christmas!_

EspeonAuraGirl55 - _I'm glad you had a good Thanksgiving! Florida weather is very nice, I'm just too terrified of hurricanes to ever live there. Yeah, Ethan is finding out that he likes being co-lieutenant with Silena_ way _better than being the leader. Trust me, I know how you feel. Finding the time to sit down and write is hard, but don't worry! It's not like you have a publisher to worry about or anything like that so it's all good! Just know that I think you'll still be a very good author when you eventually get back into it. Merry Christmas and I'll see ya next chapter!_


	4. Charlie II Zack I

**The holiday season is over! Which means I can get back to normal life, which includes writing for this story! From what I've seen in the reviews, you've all had a good time over the holidays. Good on you! Anyways, on with the story!**

(Charlie)

Charlie did not like Tartarus. He thought that the feeling was mutual.

He and Silena had followed the monsters for what seemed like hours. It didn't help that the monsters were going the exact direction that the two legacies were going in, meaning he and Silena had to become ninjas to avoid being caught.

They took a multitude of breaks to sip nectar, the acidic air of Tartarus making him feel like he was constantly inhaling a hot pepper. Not to mention that the heat from the river heated his skin, making him shudder at the constant feeling of getting the worst sunburn ever.

The two of them trudged along, moods getting worse the longer they were there. Honestly, Charlie just wanted to rush up to the group of _empousai_ and kill them all. He knew, though, that it was a good way to get killed.

Eventually, they came to a very large, very scary cliff. That they - of course they did - needed to climb down. And this time, Silena couldn't just fly down it. The toxic air coupled with the _empousai_ staying close to the cliff made it impossible for her to float down stealthily.

Charlie peered over the edge, staring down at the long drop. "I hate this quest."

"I know, isn't it great?" Silena asked sarcastically, kicking a pebble over the edge.

Charlie sighed in defeat. "After you." He waved at Silena to go first.

Silena gave him a glare and stuck her middle finger up before she bent down and hopped the edge. She caught a rock sticking out of the cliff side, stopping her fall. She quickly moved her feet and other hand to hand and foot holds as she started to climb down. Charlie groaned quietly at how long the drop was before moving to climb down himself.

About half way down the cliff, Charlie felt like his biceps were on fire, which was weird. Usually, he could go up and down the lava wall at camp five times before his arms stared feeling even a little bit sore. Right now, his arms felt like they were going to fall off.

Charlie leaned his head back and panted, turning his head a little to try and spot Silena. She was about fifty feet below him and was making slow but steady progress. Her feet, however, kept slipping every time she moved them. Charlie took a couple more deep breaths as he started again, keeping his body close to the cliffside.

After twenty minutes of intense, painful climbing, Charlie's feet finally hit the uneven floor of Tartarus. He had never been so happy to be standing on sharp rocks and broken pieces of glass.

"Lena," Charlie gasped out, hands on his knees. "Check the map."

The girl nodded tiredly and rummaged around in her pack, pulling out the map of Tartarus. She unfolded it and traced the route with her finger. "We're a third of the way there."

"Do you think it's time to call for him?" Charlie asked, having finally caught his breath.

Silena thought for a moment before nodding. "I think so, yeah."

"Alright." Charlie cracked his neck before glancing up at the ceiling. "Bob? Bob the Titan? If you can hear me, we need you."

Silence encompassed the duo for many minutes before Silena gave a sigh. "If he heard you, he'll come. Right now, we need to keep moving."

Charlie nodded his head glumly as Silena put the map back in her pack and the two of them set off. As they walked away, Charlie couldn't help but look at the ceiling one more time, wondering what his family was up to in the mortal world.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

(Zack)

Zack was not enjoying being reunited with his dad. The fourteen-year-old son of Hades had been ignoring Zack since he had been rescued.

Zachary di Angelo Solace did not like being ignored.

Right now, though, he was busy staring up at his ceiling, failing hard at going to sleep. Everyone had been moved around the night after Charlie and Silena had jumped into Tartarus, Percy and Jason wanting nothing to do with the four cousins at the moment.

So, Zack was moved to be with Leo while Ethan moved to Frank's room and Nico took Charlie's bunk. Leo had initially offered to move in with Percy so Nico and Zack could bunk together, but after seeing Nico's tense stance and Zack's carefully blank face had quickly retracted the statement and moved Zack's bed into his own room.

Now it had been three days since his two oldest cousins had jumped and he had barely gotten twelve hours of sleep over that time. Honestly, he didn't know why he was reacting so badly. Logically, he knew that if anyone was going to survive Tartarus, it would be those two. They were the best and brightest out of the entire group. Emotionally though, he felt like a tornado blowing this way and that way.

His emotions cycled through being mad at his dad, feeling guilty over Charlie and Silena, then being furious with them for thinking that strolling through Tartarus was a good idea, then feeling heartbroken that two of his uncles hated him at the moment.

It was exhausting to say the least.

Zack finally sighed in defeat and sat up, resigning himself to yet another night of watching the stars instead of sleeping. He stood up and padded out of his room, dressed in nothing but a cotton T-shirt, plaid pajama bottoms, and comfy socks. He ran a hand through his hair as he silently walked up the stairs, the deck quiet as he walked across it.

He leaned his arms on the rails and stared over the edge. Jason, Piper, and Frank hadn't noticed him yet, while Hazel was so busy at the helm, Zack doubted she'd notice anything that wasn't trying to blow her up. Leo, Zack knew, was in the engine room, while the other six were asleep, or at least trying to get to sleep.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Jason turning his head to stare directly at him with an unreadable expression. Zack clenched his jaw, waiting tensely for his uncle to come over and pick a fight.

Jason walked over and stood next to him, putting his hands on the railing and leaning on them. The son of Jupiter sighed heavily as he stared out at the neverending sky.

"I'm sorry," Jason said quietly.

Zack went rigid and turned to stare wide-eyed at his uncle. Jason continued to look over the side of the ship. Zack kept his mouth shut out of fear that if he said anything, Jason would instantly retract the apology.

"When I heard that Silena had jumped, I-I didn't know what to think." Jason kept going, getting choked up the longer he continued. "The only thing running through my mind was "How could she?", I didn't stop to think about why you all came to the past. I blamed you for my own daughter's choice and that was wrong. Zack, I hope you can forgive me. I don't want to lose a nephew I just grew to love."

Jason finally looked at him, blue eyes shining with guilt and regret. Zack sniffled loudly as he nodded his head. Jason gave a small smile as he tugged him into a strong hug, stroking his hair softly. Zack snuggled into the hug, feeling a weight being lifted off his shoulders.

"I know it's going to take a while before we're back to normal," Jason said, kissing the top of Zack's head, "but everything is going to be okay."

Zack sniffled again before he raised his head. "You're gonna have to talk to the other three, y'know."

"I know," Jason murmured. "Later, though."

The two hugged for a long time before Zack pulled back, discreetly wiping his eyes. Jason smiled at him before tossing an arm over his shoulder. "To be honest with you, I don't know why I reacted so strongly."

"I know," Zack muttered, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I almost reminds me of Atl-" Zack straightened abruptly as his brain finally made the connection. "Son of a bitch!"

"Language!" Jason chastised immediately.

"Sorry," Zack said quickly. "But I think I know why everyone is going off the rails lately!"

"What is it?" Jason asked with a concerned look.

"It's Atlas! Remember when we explained Atlas and Hugo's powers to you and we told you about what he did to you and Aunt Piper?" Jason nodded at Zack's hurried question. "Well, it started out a lot like this. Your guys' emotions bounced around wildly all the time."

"And you think he pulled the same stunt now?" Jason furrowed his eyebrows.

"I do," Zack said firmly.

"Alright," Jason clapped his hands, "then let's wake the others up. I want my emotions to stop acting like a pinball machine."

 **Again, sorry for taking so long. Now that my life has calmed down some I should be able to start pushing out chapters faster. Thanks for reading!**

Guest (1) - _I might turn it into a running gag, like the two of them get called a couple constantly only for them to start yelling denials at the top of their lungs. Would that be fun to read? Idk, I didn't mean to make it seem like Charlie and Silena were gonna get together. My plan was (and still is) for them to just be incredibly close, like twins almost. It'd just be a tad bit weird if the two of them got together, for me at least. Love you too btw, lol. I do not do that tradition actually. I've also never heard of it before, so thanks! I love learning new things! Thanks for reviewing! Bye!_

aaquater - _I know, isn't it great? Y'know, I don't think Tartarus would be too happy about the place becoming less dark and terrifying. With the map, it took me like an hour to come up with it, lol. No, they aren't relying on them for directions but for the moment both groups are moving in the same direction, meaning Charlie and Silena have to be careful._

EspeonAuraGirl55 - _When do I ever get a chapter out on a regular basis anymore? Lol. Yeah, it was kinda short. Mostly because I had no clue how to end this chapter. You're correct, it is what Percabeth used to stay alive, five points to you! My holiday was great indeed! See ya!_

ZebraGirl202 - _Thank you! I plan on it!_

MoonLight22oa - _Thanks! I'm glad you like it! How'd you like this chapter? I UPDATED, DON'T WORRY!_

Guest (2) - _Thanks! Hope you continue to like the story!_

Moonlight22qu - _I UPDATED. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!?_


	5. Zack II

(Zack)

Atlas was going to get what he had coming to him. Zack would make sure of it.

He and Jason had gathered everyone in the mess hall, including an extremely annoyed Percy, who had been making snide comments the entire time. Ethan looked like he was about to explode while Emily and Lily were leaning against each other tiredly. Annabeth was glaring darkly at her boyfriend while Piper was giving Jason a raised eyebrow at his sudden personality shift. Hazel, Leo, Nico and Frank were all wearily glancing around the table, probably wondering how they ended up being the calm ones of the group.

Jason cleared his throat loudly, attempting to ignore the tension in the room. "We -meaning Zack and I- think we've figured out why everyone's emotions have been going haywire all of a sudden."

Percy scoffed immediately. "I know why. My son and your daughter jumped into Tartarus, and these four knew about it and didn't tell us. I could've told you that one."

"Damn it, Uncle Percy!" Ethan finally snapped. "They made their choice, by themselves. There was nothing we could've done to stop them."

"You could've told us!" Percy yelled back. "You could've told me!"

"All right!" Jason shouted. "Both of you stop arguing right now! This is not helping anyone!"

The two boys sulked and slumped in their seats, glaring at the other intensely. Zack facepalmed as he listened to them argue. Honestly, were all of his family members hotheads?

Hazel calmly rested her hand on Ethan's shoulder and looked at Jason and Zack. "What did you find out?"

"Atlas Pierce is messing with our emotions," Zack answered. "He's doing the same thing he did to Jason and Piper in the future to us right now."

The entire room blinked in shared shock. Lily slapped a hand to her forehead and swore impressively. Emily banged her head on the table and started muttering despairingly.

Ethan just groaned loudly. "Of course! I'm so stupid, why didn't I think of that?"

Percy stared at Zack in surprise. "He's able to do that to eleven people? Why haven't these three been going off the rails?" he pointed at Hazel, Frank and Leo.

"Because my parents are usually the calmest people in this entire group," Emily answered him. "Uncle Nico just got here and Uncle Leo is holed away in the engine room the majority of the time."

"That makes sense." Annabeth sighed. "Why didn't we notice it before? And how did he even do it to us?"

"Atlas's power makes it so that anyone under its influence won't realize what's happening until it's too late," Lily explained quietly. "As for the second question, he probably did it when we were rescuing our siblings and somehow manipulated it to pass onto you guys as well."

"How do we stop it?" Nico asked, looking towards Zack.

Zack swallowed at the sudden attention he was receiving. Usually, it was Charlie who was the man with a plan. Zack was always in the background, nodding along and doing whatever his oldest cousin told him to do.

"Well, I don't really know how," Zack admitted. "The Hecate cabin were the ones who stopped it in the future."

"Emily," Frank spoke up, "is there anything you can do?"

Emily shrugged helplessly. "Maybe? I have a spell that might work but that's it."

"Try," Jason implored her, looking at her with wide blue eyes. Emily nodded and took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

"Kathairo," Emily whispered, her fingertips glowing a faint gold.

Everyone gasped loudly as the spell took hold. Zack felt a rush of adrenaline course through him as a warm, almost burning hot light ran through his veins before fading abruptly. "Woah," he muttered, feeling like he had just woken up from a long nap.

The others started rubbing their eyes and blinking as if a bright light had suddenly flashed in front of their eyes. Ethan shook his head like he was clearing out bad thoughts.

"What the hell," Leo mumbled. "That's so weird."

Percy had a horrified look on his face. "Oh gods, kids, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Uncle Percy," Emily immediately jumped in. "Atlas did this, not you."

Percy shook his head in denial, standing up to usher the four cousins into a tight hug. Emily and Lily dove into it instantly while Zack and Ethan begrudgingly accepted the hug, stanchly ignoring the fact that they melted into the group hug once they were pulled into it.

Five minutes later after numerous apologies and bear hugs, everyone had agreed to go back to what they were doing. Everyone but Hazel, Jason, Piper and Frank were exhausted. Zack tiredly stumbled down the stairs to his shared room and collapsed onto his bed, fast asleep before his head hit the pillow.

OoOoOoOoOo

Zack hated being woken up, especially since he'd barely been asleep for five hours.

"Zack." Percy shook his shoulder lightly. "Come on, kiddo, time to get up."

"No," Zack muttered, turning so that his back faced his uncle. "Wanna sleep."

Percy sighed. "Don't make me carry you," he half-heartedly threatened.

Zack stayed quiet, burying his face into his pillow only to squawk in terror as his body was lifted from his warm bed. He flailed around until his arms found their way around Percy's neck. The son of Poseidon gave him an amused look before he practically skipped out of the room, purposely jostling his nephew as he walked. Zack grumbled irritably as he hung on for dear life.

Finally, they made their way into the mess hall. Lily and Emily took one look at them and started laughing. Zack made a rude gesture as Percy gently lowered him to a chair, ruffling his hair as he made his way towards Annabeth.

Zack took a quick survey of the room and noticed two people missing. "Where's Uncle Jason and Uncle Leo?"

"Right here," Jason said as he and Leo appeared through the doorway before Hazel could answer Zack's question.

Everyone settled around the table, Annabeth at the head of the table with Percy and Jason sat on either side of her. Hazel, Emily, and Frank sat on Jason's side while Leo, Lily, Nico and Zack sat on Percy's side and Ethan sat directly across from Annabeth. The only person missing was Piper, who Zack assumed was at the helm with Coach Hedge. Emily looked like she was about to fall asleep while Lily sat straight with a wide-eyed look. Ethan still looked grumpy but had taken his usual grumpy look instead of the truly angered one he'd been wearing the last few days.

"So," Annabeth started, "now that we're all here."

Zack instantly zoned out, his head falling to Ethan's shoulder as his eyes involuntarily shut. He vaguely felt Ethan shift him to a more comfortable position before settling. Ethan started running a hand through Zack's hair, lulling him to sleep.

Only for him to shoot up as if he'd been electrocuted as the entire ship lurched to one side. Ethan grabbed his shoulders tightly to prevent him from leaping out of his chair. Nico wasn't so lucky. He fell backwards out of his chair and banged his head against the sideboard. He collapsed on the floor, with a dozen magic goblets and platters crashing on top of him.

"Dad!" Zack cried out at the same time Hazel shouted, "Nico!"

"What-?" Frank tried to stand up, but the ship tilted to the other direction and sent him sprawling into a plate of scrambled eggs. Percy tried to help him but only succeeded in pitching himself out of his own chair, throwing his arms out as he fell to the floor.

"Look!" Jason pointed at the walls. The images of Camp Half-Blood were flickering and changing.

"Not possible," Leo muttered in disbelief.

"Apparently not!" Lily yelled, holding on to the table tightly.

The images on the wall changed to show a huge, distorted face with crooked yellow teeth, a red scraggly beard, a warty nose and two mismatched eyes- one much larger and higher than the other. The face seemed to be trying to eat its way into the room. The other walls flickered, showing scenes from above deck. Piper stood at the helm, but something was wrong. From the shoulders down she was wrapped in duct tape, her mouth gagged and her legs bound to the helm.

At the main mast, Coach Hedge was similarly bound and gagged, while a weird-looking creature that Zack couldn't identify for the life of him danced around him, doing the coach's hair in tiny pigtails with pink rubber bands.

On the port-side wall, the huge ugly face receded so that Zack could see the entire creature -he looked like a weird mix between a gnome and a chimpanzee with a terrible fashion sense just like the other one. This one began leaping around the deck, stuffing things in a burlap bag -Piper's dagger, Leo's Wii remotes. Then he pried the Archimedes sphere out of the command console.

"No!" Lily yelled.

"Shit!" Ethan screamed.

"Uhhh," Nico groaned from the floor.

"Piper!" Jason cried.

"Monkey!" Percy and Frank yelled in unison.

"Not monkeys," Hazel grumbled. "I think those are dwarfs."

"Stealing my stuff!" Leo yelled before running for the stairs.

"I just wanted to sleep!" Zack hollered, and ran after his uncle.

 **I managed to write this not even two days after I posted chapter 4. Are you proud of me? Next chapter we'll get to see the dwarfs and Silena's pov at the end of the chapter. Hope you enjoyed!**

 **By the way, Moonlight22qu asked me for permission to use the idea of the kids of the seven plus Reyna, Will, and Nico going back in time to help them on their quest. I gave full permission and they already have a chapter out! Its called Children of the Future, its pretty good. So if ya'll want to support a member of our little community, please go check it out and give them love! Thanks!**

 **Comic out!**

Didi - _No, it doesn't have anything to do with the Gay Nico Thing. It's Jason telling his nephew how much he cares about him. I figured that you'd be Guest 1 considering the whole "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!" thing. Which your review made me laugh sooooooo hard when I read that btw. See ya next time, bye!  
_

EspeonAuraGirl55 - _I love Bob! I'm gonna do a flashback scene soon telling people how Charlie, Silena, and Zack met with Bob in the past. I can promise nothing about what I'm going to do, I can't even give hints. All I'll say is, have your tissues ready just in case. I know, this story has been really depressing so far, hasn't it? Jason apologized first because he has a slightly better grasp on his emotions than Percy, plus Piper may or may not have helped a little bit. I was wondering if anybody had guessed it, even a little bit. I'm working on making the chapters longer but you'll have to hang in there, girly. Happy New Year!_

Moonlight22qu - _Well, I'm glad you're happy, lol. Oh, you're welcome, that is my job after all. See ya next time!_

aaquater - _They didn't know anything but the pickaxe idea is hilarious. I always seem to be learning something anytime I read your reviews, lol. It's actually quite interesting. Atlas's entire attitude is screaming "Look at me!". Thanks!_

Jaspercabeth22 - _That's how I feel anytime I read reviews telling me that Charlie and Silena are so cute as a couple. I kinda just shudder in disgust a little bit. You're right, romance isn't always necessary. This is primarily a family fic, meaning the family bond between 15 separate people who aren't really related in anyway (other than the parent/child relation) but are as close as any blood related family members. Happy New Year to you too! My holidays were great, thanks!_


	6. Lily I

(Lily)

Dwarfs were irritating little bastards. Lily wasn't sure if she should feel a kinship with them or not.

As she sprinted after Zack and Leo, she couldn't help but feel relieved. Percy and Jason were right behind her, back to being her loving, dopey uncles that she pranked all the time. The relief was short-lived, however, as the situation on deck was worse than she had thought.

She came to a screeching halt, Percy and Jason hastily stopping so that they didn't run her over. Coach Hedge and Piper were struggling against their duct tape bonds while one of the demon monkey things danced around the deck, picking up whatever wasn't tied down and sticking it in his bag. He was maybe four feet tall, even shorter than Coach Hedge, with bowed legs and chimp-like feet, his clothes so loud Lily had a headache just looking at him.

His green-plaid pants were pinned at the cuffs, and were held up with bright red suspenders over a striped pink-and-black woman's blouse. He wore half a dozen gold watches on each arm, and a zebra-patterned cowboy hat with a price tag dangling from the brim. His skin was covered with patched of scraggly red fur, though ninety percent of his body hair seemed to concentrate in his magnificent eyebrows.

'Do all monsters have terrible fashion sense?' Lily thought as she blinked at the outfit in shock.

"Duck!" Leo abruptly yelled as he threw himself to the ground.

Percy tackled her to the floor as an explosion went off a foot away from them, Jason doing the same to Zack right beside her. Her ears rang as she groaned loudly, feeling around to squeeze Zack's hand. Percy pushed himself off of her, holding his head as he shook it lightly. Jason blinked rapidly while Leo groggily rolled onto his back. Lily slowly climbed to her feet, stumbling as her equilibrium fought to right itself.

"It just had to be the flash bang," Lily muttered, flexing her jaw so that her ears would pop. Zack shook his head wildly like a dog, eyes wide as he glanced around. The three others were all still on the ground, groaning as the effects of the grenade painfully wore off.

Percy and Jason seemed to have taken the brunt of it by jumping on top of the two cousins, the two demigods splayed out on the ground. Percy was wildly throwing his hands out, as if searching for something, while he groaned as loudly as possible. Jason was flat on his back, staring up at the sky, unseeing, as he cupped his ears and rubbed them, still blinking rapidly. Leo had weakly turned over onto his stomach but looked like he was completely wasted.

Lily stumbled, bumping into the helm. "Get back here, you- ohhhh that's not good." She hit her knees, fighting back nausea as her body rejected her idea of standing.

"Why is the world pink?" Zack asked woozily as he crumbled on top of Percy, who groaned impossibly louder as his nephew landed on top of him. Piper gave a muffled yell as one of the dwarfs nicked Leo's tool belt from around his waist. Lily shuffled on her hands and knees and used the helm to pull her to a standing position. She pulled off Piper's gag, leaning heavily on the helm.

"Don't waste your time on me!" Piper said quickly. "Go after them!"

"Working on it," Zack grunted as he pushed himself off of Percy. "Where'd the little devils go?"

"They used the ballista." Leo weakly pointed as he pulled himself to his feet.

Ethan suddenly leapt through the doorway with Frank and Annabeth on his heels. He skidded to a halt and surveyed the chaotic scene. His eyebrows twitched in rage before he reached down to gently pull Jason to a sitting position as Annabeth did the same to Percy. "What happened? We heard the explosion."

"Flash bangs. Thieving dwarfs. You know, the usual," Lily explained, her body finally settling back down.

Ethan took a deep breath. "Alright, Frank, you'll take Lily and Emily to chase after the dwarfs. Jason will follow with Leo when he's up and moving."

"Are you sure tha- " Frank hesitantly started to say only to cut himself off when he saw Ethan's thunderous look. "Let's go, girls!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Frank landed in what seemed like the main square of the town, gently putting both girls on their feet. Emily had quickly been grabbed from the mess hall where she had been helping Hazel with Nico and the three of them had taken off. Leo and Jason had assured them that they'd be minutes behind them.

"Let's find these damn monkeys," Lily grumbled. She saw Emily and Frank give each other wide-eyed looks when they heard her tone but stayed blissfully silent.

Lily wasn't in the greatest of moods. Her emotions had been messed with by one of her greatest enemies, two of her uncles had hated her for days, her oldest cousins were literally in hell with no back-up whatsoever, and now two dwarfs had stolen the Archimedes sphere, detonated a flash grenade next to her, and tied up one of her aunts. She was in the mood to _barbecue_ someone.

"Where to?" Frank asked.

Lily gave him a sarcastic look. "Gee, I don't know. Let me check my dwarf-tracking GPS...oh wait! Those don't exist!"

Frank glared back before Emily gave both of them a shocking jolt from her magic. "Knock it off. We're here to find dwarfs, not insult each other."

"Can't we do both?" Lily asked rhetorically. She sulked as she saw the looks the father/daughter duo were giving her. "Fine. The ballista fired the first dwarf in that direction according to Uncle Jase. Come on."

They waded through a literal lake of pigeons, then sullenly walked down a side street of clothing stores and gelato shops. 'Man, now I want gelato...' Lily whined mentally. The sidewalks they were walking down were lined with beautiful white columns covered in graffiti. She kept patting her chest, making sure her necklace was still there. It had been a birthday present from her mother and was completely fireproof. It was a small pearl, the only thing that Calypso had taken from her island prison. Her mother had put it on a fireproof twine of rope, saying that she would gladly do it all again if it meant that she still got to be Lily's mother.

Lily had gone to the past five months later.

"Lily, look." Emily lightly smacked her arm.

The curly-haired girl looked up and immediately averted her eyes. "Oh gods, it's too early in the morning for this."

A buck-naked statue of Neptune was standing in the middle of a small piazza. The sea god stood on a big marble column in the middle of a fountain that wasn't working (to Lily's amusement). On either side of Neptune, little winged Cupid-looking dudes were sitting, just chillin'. Neptune himself (Lily stanchly ignored anything higher than his lower thighs and anything below his hips) was throwing his hip to one side in an Elvis Presley move. He gripped his trident loosely in his right hand and stretched his left hand out as if to bless anyone loitering by his fountain.

Lily did not feel blessed.

"Frank, girls, over here!" a voice from their left called.

Lily whipped her head to the side and saw Jason waving his hands to get their attention. The two groups moved toward one another, Lily noting that Percy had included himself on the journey and had one hand covering his peripherals to try his best to ignore the incredibly naked statue of his dad. Leo looked like he was in as good of a mood as Lily was in, which wasn't a very good one.

"Hey, guys," Frank greeted.

The trio of guys nodded back in answer, getting right down to business. "Did you find either of those demon monkeys?" Percy asked, hand still partially blocking his view.

Lily shook her head. "We haven't seen 'em."

"Well, what about this?" Leo asked, waving vaguely at the statue. "Some kind of clue?"

Jason frowned. "Maybe, maybe not. There are statues of gods all over the place in Italy. I'd just feel better if we ran across Jupiter. Or Minerva. Anybody but Neptune, really. No offence, Percy."

The son of the sea god just waved him away, switching avoidance tactics. He looked straight down at the ground, studying his tennis shoes intently. "Did they have to make him naked? I mean, come on, really?" Percy whined.

Lily snickered despite herself, feeling Emily do the same right beside her. Percy looked up long enough to stick his tongue out at them before going back to his avoidance tactic. Jason shook his head at them while Leo climbed into the dry fountain. He put his hand on the statue's pedestal, and flinched back slightly, getting some kind of feedback from the fountain from what Lily could tell.

"It's mechanical," Leo said. "Maybe a doorway to the dwarfs' secret lair?"

"Ooooo!" shrieked a sudden, nearby voice. "Secret lair?"

"I want a secret lair!" yelled another voice from above.

Frank pulled out his bow while Jason and Percy instantly had their swords in hand. The three of them backed the two girls into the middle of the crude circle they made. Emily got her bow out at the same time Lily pulled her dagger from its holster. Leo whipped his head around as he stood in the fountain, trying to pinpoint the location of the voices that belonged to the demon-spawn they were hunting.

The red-furred dwarf in the cowboy hat was sitting about thirty feet away at the nearest café table, sipping an espresso held by his monkey-like foot. The brown-furred dwarf in the green bowler was perched on the marble pedestal at Neptune's feet, just above Leo's head. Leo jerked away in surprise the moment he realized that a dwarf was right above his head.

"If we had a secret lair," Red Fur said, "I would want a firehouse pole."

"And a waterslide," Brown Fur quickly added as he pulled random tools out of Leo's tool belt, tossing aside wrenches, hammers, and staple guns.

"Stop that!" Leo yelled, trying to grab the dwarf's feet, but he couldn't reach the top of the pedestal.

"Too short?" Brown Fur sounded sympathetic, to Lily's begrudging amusement.

"You're calling me short?" Leo glanced around for something to throw at the midget. When he couldn't find anything, he settled for shaking his fist at him. "Give me my belt, you stupid -"

"Now, now!" Brown Fur cut short Leo's insult. "We haven't even introduced ourselves. I'm Akmon. And my brother over there -"

"- is the handsome one!" The red-furred dwarf finished his brothers sentence and lifted his espresso. Lily was sure that the dwarf didn't need any more caffeine. "Passalos! Singer of songs! Drinker of coffee! Stealer of shiny things!"

Lily traded disbelieving looks with Percy and Emily. These idiots couldn't be serious, right?

"Please!" shrieked his brother, Akmon. "I steal much better than you."

Passalos snorted. "Stealing naps, maybe!" He took out a knife - Piper's knife - and started picking his teeth with it.

"Hey!" Jason shouted with outrage. "That's my girlfriends knife!"

He lunged at Passalos, but the red-furred dwarf was too quick. He sprang from his chair, bounced off of Jason's head, did a flip, and landed next to Leo, his hairy arms around his waist.

"Save me?" the dwarf begged.

"Get off!" Leo tried to shove him away, but Passalos did a backward somersault and landed out of reach. Leo's pants promptly fell around his knees.

He stared murderously at Passalos, who now grinning and holding a small zigzaggy strip of metal. Somehow, the dwarf had stolen the zipper right off Leo's pants.

"Give- stupid- zipper!" Leo stuttered, so angry he could barely speak as he fought to hoist his pants up.

"Eh, not shiny enough." Passalos threw it away before turning to smile at Lily. He flipped toward her and stopped a foot away. "What about you, sweet thing? Got anything valuable?"

"Oh, I got something," Lily snapped before she burst into flames, purposely singeing the dwarfs fur. He shrieked loudly in fear and started back-flipping away, hastily patting himself down to check that he wasn't on fire.

"Nice one," Percy complimented as she let the flames die out.

Lily gave a lopsided grin. "Thanks."

"Tell me I don't have moves," Passalos boasted as he landed next to his brother, seemingly ignoring Lily's attempt to set him on fire.

"Okay," Akmon said. "You don't have moves."

"Bah!" Passalos said. "Give me the tool belt. I want to see it."

"No!" Akmon elbowed him away. "You got the knife and the shiny ball."

"Yes, the shiny ball is nice." Passalos took off his cowboy hat. Like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, he pulled the Archimedes sphere and began tinkering with the ancient bronze dials.

"Stop!" Leo and Lily yelled as one, Leo continuing the sentence. "That's a delicate machine."

Lily, Jason, Percy, and the two Zhangs walked to over to Leo's side, climbing into the fountain with him, and Jason glared up at the dwarfs. "Who are you two, anyway?"

"The Kerkopes!" Akmon narrowed his eyes at Jason. "I bet you're a son of Jupiter, eh? I can always tell."

"Just like Black Bottom," Passalos agreed.

"Black Bottom?" Emily asked, eyeing the ridiculous duo warily. Lily was too busy anxiously staring at the Archimedes sphere to ask any questions. She was sure Passalos was going to ruin, or drop it.

"Yes, you know." Akmon grinned. "Hercules. We called him Black Bottom because he used to go around without clothes. He got so tan that his backside, well- "

"Too much information," Lily and Emily muttered in unison as Frank grimaced in agreement.

"At least he had a sense of humor!" Passalos said. "He was going to kill us when we stole from him, but he let us go because he liked our jokes. Not like you lot. Grumpy, grumpy!"

"Hey, I've got a sense of humor," Leo snarled. "Give me back our stuff, and I'll tell you a joke with a great punch line."

"Nice try!" Akmon pulled a ratchet wrench from the tool belt and spun it like a noisemaker. "Oh, very nice! I'm definitely keeping this! Thanks, Blue Bottom!"

Lily blinked in confusion at the nickname and glanced at her dad, only to see that his pants had fallen around his ankles again, showing off his blue underwear. Leo practically shook with rage.

"That's it!" he shouted. "My stuff. Now. Or I'll show you how funny a flaming dwarf is." His hands caught fire.

"Now we're talking." Jason thrust his sword into the sky. Dark clouds began to gather over the piazza. Thunder boomed loudly.

"Oh yeah, this is going to calm things down," Percy quipped before sticking his hands out. The fountain started trembling a little, the water trapped underneath it fighting to come to Percy's call.

"Oh, scary!" Akmon shrieked.

"Yes," Passalos agreed. "If only we had a secret lair to hide in."

"Alas, this statue isn't the doorway to a secret lair," Akmon said mournfully. "It has a different purpose."

Lily's stomach dropped and she grabbed Emily, diving out of the fountain as Leo followed, yelling, "Trap!" Unfortunately, Jason and Percy were too busy trying to rain hell down upon the two dwarfs. Frank quickly leapt out and covered his head, expecting the worst.

Lily lifted her head as she felt something whiz past her foot. Five golden cords had shot out from the Neptune statue's fingers. One barely missed Lily's left foot. The rest homed in on Percy and Jason, wrapping them up like cattle and slamming them into each other, yanking them upside down. A bolt of lightning blasted the tines of Neptune's trident, sending arcs of electricity up and down the statue, but the Kerkopes had already disappeared. Frank, however, got a chest full of lightning as some of it arced from the statue and went for him. He flew back a few feet and stayed down, groaning painfully.

Emily rushed toward her father, sliding on her knees as she neared him. Lily pushed herself to her feet and stood next to her dad, glowering at the applauding dwarfs.

"Bravo!" Akmon finished clapping from a nearby café table. "You make a wonderful piñata, son of Jupiter! And friend."

"Yes!" Passalos looked happy. "Hercules hung us upside down once, you know. Oh, revenge is sweet!"

Leo summoned a fireball. He lobbed it at Passalos, who was juggling two pigeons and the Archimedes sphere.

"Eek!" The dwarf jumped free of the explosion, dropping the sphere and letting the pigeons fly.

"Time to leave," Akmon decided. He tipped his bowler and sprang away, jumping from table to table. Passalos glanced at the Archimedes sphere, which had rolled in between Lily and Leo.

The duo summoned their own fireballs. "Try us," they snarled as one.

"Bye!" Passalos did a backflip and ran after his brother.

Leo scooped up the sphere and ran over to Jason and Percy while Lily rushed over to Emily and Frank. Frank's shirt was smoking lightly but he looked otherwise unharmed.

"Go," he coughed. "Emily and I will help those two, but you can't lose them!"

"But-"

"Go!"

Lily turned and started running after the dwarfs, her dad appearing by her side, leaving their family to sort themselves out.

 _OoOoOoOoOoOo_

Meanwhile in Tartarus.

"Charlie, we are so screwed."

"Yeah, I know."

 **Whew! This was a long one! I was actually going to do a scene with Silena's POV but I liked this ending better. Pls, don't kill me. Hope you liked this chapter! See ya next time!**

 **Comic out!**

aaquater - _Atlas is a bit scary than the Eidolons. Leo is a hot-head, but he's a hot-head that needs to be worked up a lot before he explodes with rage. Everyone's exhausted on this quest, sadly, breaks aren't allowed. Dwarfs aren't that smart, they just want to steal shit. Yes, they have, and yes, it is. You'll see why later._

EspeonAuraGirl55 - _I like making the cute chapters, they're easy to write. The flashback is pretty important as it's going to have a clue for later in the book. This chapter is pretty long, I think it's about three thousand words? Not including ANs and this portion of the chapter. I give out clues all the time, people just don't seem to catch them, lol. That's really sweet! I love updating because of how much love I get from you guys! See ya!_

Moonlight22qu - _No problem, sweetie. How's your story coming along?_

Didi - _Thanks! To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what I was going to do with the chapter either. Typically when I sit down to write a chapter it's like midnight, I'm curled up in my bed with my laptop, my entire family is asleep, and I have music blasting in my ears. I start by reading the chapter of HoH that I'm at, then I work out how I'm going to incorporate my OCs and how I'm going to change the plot to suit my own needs. After that I just start writing. It usually takes me a good three to four hours to write a chapter, then I go back later and spend an hour looking it over to see if I need to change anything. After all that, I send it to my beta, who looks it over and sends the looked-over chapter back to me and I post it. How'd I do with this chapter? Did I spice things up a little bit for ya? Bye!_


	7. Silena I

**Oh, lordy. I did it again, didn't I? Well, tis life, I guess. It decides to bury you with things to do at the drop of a hat. But! Something awesome is happening when I post this chapter. It's Fated To Save's birthday! Whoooooo! I started this crazy, awesome, sometimes painful journey one whole year ago! In that time a lot of stuff has happened, some good, some bad and I honestly wouldn't have been able to get through it without you all. Thank you so much for staying with this series and putting up with my staggered updates. I love you all!**

 **Now, on with the chapter!**

(Silena)

Sometimes Silena just couldn't figure out how she got into these situations.

Here she was all the way in Tartarus, back to back with her best friend/cousin fighting off _empousai_ while the rest of her family was topside trying their hardest to get to the House of Hades as fast as possible. Not to mention the back up they had been expecting had failed to show up, which meant that they were facing several _empousai_ with only two daggers and a sword between the two of them. And their enemies looked particularly bloodthirsty.

So yeah, Silena was not feeling the love. Neither was Charlie.

Said teenage boy looked as if he were made of stone, his expression was so cold. The blonde was in a ready position, right foot positioned slightly backwards and his hips twisted slightly. His sword was held out in front of him protectively as he moved to cover Silena's blind spots. Honestly, he looked a bit like a hero from a teen action movie. Blonde hair spiked up with blood and dirt, his green eyes glaring angrily at the monster with his shoulders squared.

"So," Charlie spoke, looking at the three _empousai_ snarling at him. "which of the three of you wants to die first?"

One lunged forward at the threat, screeching in outrage. Charlie stepped to his left and pivoted, bringing Riptide down hard on the monster's upper spine. It instantly exploded with ear shattering shriek, gold monster dust coating Charlie's skin.

"Who's next?" Charlie asked, a shit eating grin on his face despite the hard look in his eyes.

The last four _empousai_ pounced on the legacies, two each. Silena ducked and rolled, popping up behind one of her opponents. She snapped her arm out, slashing her dagger across the back of the monsters thigh. The vampire howled in pain, spinning around at a dizzying speed and raking her claws across Silena's forearm in retaliation. The brunette cried out, leaping back only to be punched in the kidney from behind. Silena stumbled to the side, her body screaming in pain.

Charlie wasn't fairing much better. Apparently the other two _empousai_ didn't take kindly to the fact that Charlie had killed their fellow monster. They double teamed him, one getting a lucky shot to his ribs while the other gave him a bloody nose.

"I recognize that scent." sneered the _empousai_ who had given Charlie a bloody nose. "The blonde bitch and the sea spawn, you're their son. Aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged." Charlie gave a wide grin despite the blood dripping down his chin. "And I'd assume that you're Kelly? Didn't my mother make you her bitch when she was fifteen?"

Kelly screamed in rage, flinging herself at Charlie. The teenager hastily ducked, arcing his sword high so that it caught Kelly's upper thigh. Silena swore in pain as she felt an _empousai_ sink its teeth into her shoulder. She wrenched herself away from it, spinning around to quickly kick it in the ribs. Silena moved closer to Charlie, pressing a hand to her open wound.

"Charlie, we are so screwed."

"Yeah, I know."

They shared a solemn look. If they didn't figure a way out of this one, they would fail their quest. _That_ was unacceptable.

Silena took a deep breath and sprang forward, feeling Charlie do the same. She tackled one _empousai_ and quickly shoved her dagger into its ribcage, causing it to shriek and explode. She barely get one breath out before she was grabbed and thrown, landing roughly on her injured shoulder. Pain exploded across her body, ripping a choked scream from her throat.

"Lena!" Charlie yelled, Kelly sinking her claws into his back.

Black spots danced over her vision, her stomach churning. A foot appeared in her blurry peripherals, slamming into the side of her face. She rolled onto her back, spitting out an alarming amount of blood. The _empousai_ loomed over her, a sadistic grin spread across her face. The vampire placed her foot on the limp legacy's throat, slowly putting more weight on it. Silena gasped in pain, flinging her arms out franticly in a desperate attempt to grab hold of something that would help her. She distantly heard Charlie scream out her name in a mix of pain and rage.

Abruptly the crushing weight on her throat disappeared. Her lungs instantly rejoiced, sucking in the air it had been denied greedily. She turned her head to check on her cousin only to see him on his knees staring to her left in shock, ignoring the blood pouring out his back.

Silena already knew what had happened. A Titan had joined the battlefield.

 _OoOoOoOoOoOoOo_

Silena wasn't quite sure when she blacked out, she just knew it happened after Bob the Titan squashed Kelly like a bug.

She woke up surrounded in warmth, Charlie's arm tossed carelessly over her body. The older teenager was passed out on his stomach, a small drool puddle near his head. She carefully sat up, moving Charlie's arm as she went. Bob smiled at her from her left.

"Hello!" the janitor said happily.

"Hi, Bob." Silena smiled. "How are you?"

"Very well! Bob likes cleaning!" the happy-go-lucky titan answered.

"Awesome," Silena rolled to her feet and gently touched her shoulder, surprised to find it completely healed. "Bob, did you heal me?"

"Yes." Bob nodded hurriedly. "The owie looked painful so Bob fixed it all up!"

Silena tugged on his arm so that he bent down. She kissed him on the cheek and gave him a sincere smile. "Thanks, big guy."

The titan blushed madly, stuttering as he drew back to his full height. Silena turned back to Charlie to hide her now slightly mischievous smile. She kicked her cousin in the leg. "Nap time's over, cupcake. Get up."

The blonde groaned, swatting his arm at her in annoyance. Silena rolled her eyes and kicked him harder.

"Alright, alright, I'm up." Charlie grumbled as he pushed himself to his feet. He looked at the drool puddle and blinked. "Huh, haven't done that since I was seven."

Silena sighed, exasperated. "Investigate your drooling later. Right now, we need to get moving."

Charlie nodded and looked towards Bob. "Hey, buddy. How long have we been asleep?"

"Not long. But more monsters are coming so we should go soon." the titan gripped his broom uneasily.

"Okay," Charlie accepted easily. "lets go."

"Good!" Bob said, back to being happy. "Bob knows a way! Come, friends! We will have fun!"

Silena figured out that was a lie two hours later.

They trekked through Tartarus following Bob as he seemed to almost aimlessly walk around. They kept the Phlegethon to their left as they trudged along, sipping on nectar to keep their strength up. The further they walked, the more uneasy Silena felt. She constantly looked over her shoulder, wondering if the shadows following them were all in her head.

She glanced up at the titan and thought back to when she first met the giant.

(Flashback)

 _"So," Zack said, glancing between Silena and Charlie. "You want me to what?"_

 _The duo rolled their eyes. Honestly, they had already explained this to him before they left for the past. The three of them were hidden away in the Hades cabin. Annabeth had taken the rest of the cousins for the day, wanting to see how well they did in combat. She and Leo had locked down a section of the woods and were throwing as much as they could at the kids. They were two days away from telling the rest of the parents at Camp Half-Blood. Which meant that they needed to do this now._

 _"We need you to take us to the Underworld." Charlie patiently explained._

 _Zack nodded. "Okay. Why?"_

 _Silena pursed her lips and gave him a_ look _. Zack shied away instantly, muttering "Nevermind."_ _The thirteen-year-old grabbed their hands, tugging them through the shadows. Cold assaulted Silena on all sides, invaded her every pore until finally her feet landed on solid ground. Charlie shook his head a little, shivering like Silena was._

 _"I hate that." Charlie said, rubbing his ears._

 _Zack smirked. "Don't be such a cry baby."_

 _"I will hurt you, Solace." Charlie gave a mock glare. "Let's go."_

 _Silena glanced around at where Zack had taken them. A large structure loomed over them, dark and terrifying. It was Hades' Palace. Silena raised an eyebrow, wondering why Zack took them here._

 _Zack read her look and answered the silent question. "I figured I could pop in and say hi to Grandfather. Maybe get some info about Tartarus."_

 _"Nice thinking." Silena and Charlie agreed in unison._

 _"All right," Charlie continued. "Lena and I will go do our thing while you bond with Hades. We'll meet back here in an hour. Have fun, kid."_

 _Zack gave a sarcastic salute and disappeared into the shadows, not even questioning what they were doing. 'Love that, kid.' Silena thought before looking to Charlie._

 _He nodded towards the Judgment Pavilion where she could barely see a hulking figure sweeping the floor. "Lets go see our titan."_

 _They walked the short distance to the pavilion. The closer they came, the wider Silena's eyes got. Bob the Titan was ten feet tall and would be scary-as-hell if it weren't for the fact that he was happily cleaning the weirdest court-room Silena had ever seen. Charlie gave a soft whistle to catch the gentle titan's attention. The silver-haired being turned, expression going from happy to confused instantly._

 _"Hello." Bob said, sounded weary._

 _Charlie gave him a calm smile. "Hi, you're Bob, correct?"_

 _"My name is Bob, yes." he nodded, expression easing slightly at the softness the duo portrayed. "Do you know Bob?"_

 _"Kind of," Silena answered, a matching smile on her face. "His father is Percy Jackson. Percy told us all about you."_

 _And just like that, the titan's face lit up like a Christmas tree at the mention of the demigod. "Friend Percy!"_

 _"That's right, Bob." Silena's smile widened against her will. "And we need your help."_

 _"What can Bob do to help?" Bob's head tilted as he hunched over slightly to get a better look at them._

 _Silena and Charlie shared a grin. "How do you feel about Tartarus?"_

(End Flashback)

"Here." Bob startled her out of her own head.

They stopped at the top of ridge. Below them, in what looked like a crater, stood ring of broken black marble columns surrounding a dark stone altar.

"Hermes's shrine." Charlie murmured. "Silena, pull out the map. How far are we?"

Silena shifted her backpack around, digging through the slightly damaged pockets. She grabbed the map and smoothed it out, tracing their route. "About halfway. If we keep to our schedule we should be out of here in no time."

Charlie gave a sigh of relief. "Good. Let's camp there for the night. Bob, monsters avoid this area, right?"

Bob nodded rapidly, silver hair bouncing all over the place. "Right."

Charlie jumped down into the crater and scanned their surroundings while Silena and Bob followed him. The trio walked into the circle, Silena pulling off her pack and tossing it to the ground. Charlie copied her movements, waving a hand for Bob to sit down with them. Bob shook his head.

"You sleep." Bob explained. "Mortals need rest. I will guard you."

"Thanks, big guy." Charlie scrubbed a dirty hand through his hair. "I think we'll take you up on that."

Bob smiled and nodded, turning so that his back faced them. Silena moved her pack so that it worked as a pillow, laying down tiredly as she threw an arm over her eyes.

"Night, Lena." Charlie murmured quietly.

"G'night, CJ." Silena said back, her breathing already slowing down as her body finally succumbed to its exhaustion.


	8. Lily II

**Soooooooooo, it's been a while *laughs nervously* I'm really sorry about that, guys, I've had a crazy life for the last few months. My cousin and I actually started our own original story and we might be publishing if we ever finish the damn thing. *Insert subtle plug here xD* Would you guys be interested in reading my original work? Let me know in the reveiws!**

 **Anyway, no more talk. On with the story!**

(Lily)

Lily was immediately suspicious when the dwarfs didn't even attempt to shake them off their tail.

They stayed just at the edge of Lily's vision, leaping over people and objects like they were nothing, whooping and hollering like idiots. It was almost like they wanted Lily and Leo to follow after them.

Every thirty seconds though Leo's pants fell down causing him to swear loudly, his temper flaring hotter and hotter. Lily was surprised he hadn't set anything on fire yet. The Valdez family wasn't exactly known for being calm in irritating circumstances.

Lily continued to sprint after them, her lungs burning slightly. She felt like she was running a marathon and her dad didn't look much better. The two of them turned a corner and Lily saw two ancient looking stone towers jutting into the sky, side by side, much bigger than anything she had seen in the neighborhood.

The dwarfs climbed the tower on the right. When they reached the top, they moved to the back and disappeared.

"Sonofabitch." Lily muttered. Now they had to climb that freaking tower and go find them.

Leo gave her a look. "Language."

She gave him a pout but turned back to the tower and threw her hands up in air. "Now what do we do?"

Leo tapped his foot anxiously as he scanned the neighborhood they were in, zeroing in on an old lady hobbling out of a set of automatic double glass doors. He grabbed her arm and pointed.

"There. Now, let's go!" he ordered her and took off running again, pulling her with him.

The duo ran into the store, Leo snagging a cart and starting to throw seemingly random things in it. Once she saw him toss toothpaste, sugar, and charcoal in she started having an idea of what he was making.

She grabbed baking soda, matches, and bug spray while her dad hunted down the aluminum foil and some snack foods as a cover. They dumped their stuff at the register and Lily dug her hands into her pockets. Her fingers touched crumpled paper and she pulled out the money and handed it to her dad.

Their wide-eyed checkout lady asked them a few questions that they ignored as Leo practically shoved the money in her face before grabbing the bags and fleeing, Lily on his heels.

They ducked into a nearby doorway and started taking out their ingredients. Lily noticed the laundry cord wrapped around her dad's waist and snickered quietly. He rolled his eyes and motioned for her to start building her stuff.

A few long minutes later and they had their arsenal. Jason, Percy and the Zhangs didn't show. Lily hoped it meant that they were looking for them and not still stuck at the statue. Unfortunately that meant Leo and Lily had no backup.

Lily started walking towards the tower with Leo by her side. They jogged to the entrance and were stopped by some caretaker who yelled at them in Italian.

"Seriously?" Leo complained loudly. "Look, man, you've got dwarfs in your belfry. We're the exterminators." he held up the can of bug spray he had grabbed when Lily wasn't looking. "See? Exterminator _Molto Buono_. Squirt, squirt. Ahhh!"

Lily buried her face in her hands at her dad's explanation. "Yes, dad, because that's going to convince him to let us in."

The guy held out his palm for money.

"Dang, man." Leo grumbled. "I spent all my cash on homemade explosives and whatnot." Lily moved to sift through Leo's bag while he scowled at the guy.

"Um, what about these?" Lily asked as she held up a bag of what looked to be chips called Fonzies.

To the father-daughter duo's surprise the guy shrugged and took the bag. " _Avanti_!"

"Huh," Lily blinked at him as Leo pushed her to keep climbing. "Those must be really good."

Leo moved next to her and shrugged. "We'll stock up on them later."

The stairs continued. On and on they went, Lily's lungs feeling like they were about to explode. Next to her Leo didn't look much better. "We need to get in shape." she muttered to him.

He waved his hand dismissively and sucked in a deep breath. Finally they stopped on a landing for a rest. Her heart pounded against her ribs angrily, as if to say Why the hell are you climbing stairs? Don't you know that we're not athletic?

They kept climbing. And finally, with her body ready to rebel against her, they reached the summit.

The room looked to be about the size of a broom closet, with barred windows on all four walls. Pushed into the corners were mounds of stolen goods, shiny things spilling across the floor. Lily eyed Piper's knife, Silena's gold-plated glasses that she never wears, and one of Zack's doodling books.

"Where's-" Lily started to ask only for Leo to nudge her and point upwards. She followed his gaze and sighed.

Akmon and Passalos were hanging upside down from the rafters by their feet, playing antigravity poker. When they saw the two descendants of Hephaestus, they threw their cards like confetti and cheered loudly.

"I told you they'd do it!" Akmon yelled smugly.

Passalos shrugged and took off one of his many gold watches and tossed it to his brother. "You win. I didn't think they were that dumb, especially not the hot chick."

Lily's eye twitched at the nickname. "I'm going to kill them." she informed her dad tightly.

Leo winced at her tone and motioned for her to calm down as the two dwarfs dropped to the floor. Akmon was wearing Leo's tool belt and Lily felt his fingers twitch at the sight of it.

Passalos straightened out his cowboy hat and kicked open the grate on the nearest window. "What should we make these two climb next, brother? The dome of San Luca?"

Lily felt a flash of annoyance go through her at the thought of climbing more stairs. Leo gave them a forced smile and lied through his teeth. "Oh, that sounds fun! But before you guys go, you forgot something shiny."

Lily shifted back a little as Leo moved forward a tiny bit. The dwarfs gave agitated movements as Akmon shook his head rapidly.

"Impossible!" Akmon declared with a scowl. "We were very thorough."

"You sure?" Leo asked as he held up his shopping bag enticingly. Lily fingered her homemade firecrackers and forced herself not to nervously bounce on her toes.

The dwarfs inched their way closer. Lily had to give her dad props, he called it. Their curiosity easily got the better of them.

"Look." Leo brought out his weapon of choice - a lump of dried chemicals wrapped in aluminum foil - and lit it with his hand.

Lily looked away sharply as it popped. Toothpaste, sugar, and bug spray and made a nice flashbang as the dwarfs immediately found out. They shrieked loudly, palming their eyes as tears streaked down their faces. They wobbled towards the window, only for Lily to set off her own fireworks and toss it at their feet. Then to add to the chaos Leo filled the room with white smoke, courtesy of the Archimedes sphere.

Thankfully Leo and Lily weren't bothered by the smoke because of their fire immunity. While the dwarfs were coughing and choking on the smoke Leo grabbed his tool belt from Akmon, calmly pulled out some bungee cord and tied them up.

"My eyes!" Akmon wailed, wheezing loudly. "My tool belt!"

"My feet are on fire!" Passalos cried. "Not shiny! Not shiny at all!"

While Leo made sure they weren't going anywhere Lily retrieved her family's belongings. Piper's dagger, Silena's glasses, and Zack's journal. She also spotted some of her dad's prototype grenades, and a dozen other odds and ends the dwarfs had taken from the _Argo ll_.

"Please!" Akmon wailed louder. "Don't take our shinies! Please, pretty lady!"

"We'll make you a deal!" Passalos suggested. "We'll cut you in for ten percent if you let us go!"

Leo and Lily shared amused look as Leo crushed their hopes. "Afraid not. It's all ours now."

"Twenty percent."

Just then, thunder boomed overhead. Lightning flashed, and the bars on the nearest window burst into sizzling, melted stubs of iron.

Jason flew in like a superhero with Emily in one arm and his other holding his steaming gold sword. Frank in dragon form entered after him with Percy, wielding Riptide, in his clutches.

Lily went to hug her youngest cousin while Leo whistled appreciatively. "Man, you just wasted an awesome entrance."

Percy and Jason frowned in unison as they noticed the hog-tied Kerkopes. "What the-"

"All by ourselves," Leo said proudly as Frank shifted back to being his normal self. "We're special that way. How did you find us?"

The girls drifted back to the parent's sides and Percy reached over and ruffled Lily's hair, giving her a proud smile.

"Uh, the smoke," Frank answered as he eyed the dwarfs dubiously. "And the loud popping noises. Were you having a gunfight in here?"

"Something like that." Leo tossed Jason Piper's dagger, then turned to keep rummaging through the bags of treasure.

Lily grinned at her uncles. "We made homemade firecrackers."

The trio of men blinked at her shock while Emily pouted in jealousy. "That's so not fair!" the youngest whined loudly as Lily smiled at her.

"...we're raising a bunch of pyromaniacs." Percy said blandly, shaking his head in resigned amusement.

Jason and Frank nodded in agreement as Frank lifted his daughter onto his back. She hung off him limply as she continued to sulk about her missed chance. Jason threw his arm around Lily's own shoulders and hip-checked her.

"Glad you're okay, kid." he grinned down at her.

Lily lifted her head and returned his smile. "Thanks, Uncle Jase."

"Take it!" Passalos yelped, interrupting the moment. He was looking at Leo who was holding some sort of mechanical thing. "Odysseus made it, you know! Take it and let us go."

"Odysseus?" Jason frowned. "Like, _the_ Odysseus?"

"Yes!" Passalos squeaked as Akmon nodded rapidly beside him. "Made it when he was an old man in Ithaca. One of his last inventions, and we stole it!"

"How does it work?" Lily asked curiously.

"Oh, it doesn't." Akmon said. "Something about a missing crystal?" He glanced to his brother for help.

"My biggest what-if," Passalos said wistfully. "'Should've taken a crystal.' That's what he kept muttering in his sleep, the night we stole it." The dwarf shrugged. "No idea what he meant. But the shiny is yours! Can we go now?"

Leo nodded absentmindedly as he slipped the device into one of his many pockets before picking up a leather-bound book. Its title was in leaf gold, in a language that Lily could barely remember seeing on one of her mother's spellbooks.

"What's this?" Leo waved it in front of the dwarfs faces, tears still slipping down their cheeks as an aftereffect of the flashbang.

"Nothing!" Akmon said. "Just a book. It had a pretty gold cover, so we took it from him."

"Him?" Percy asked with a raised eyebrow as he watched Emily start using Frank as a jungle gym. Lily shook her head at her baby cousin while Frank stood there with a panicked look.

Akmon and Passalos exchanged a nervous look. "Minor god," Passalos said. "In Venice. Really, it's nothing."

"Venice." Jason frowned at Leo while staunchly ignoring Emily hanging off of Frank's shoulders. "Isn't that where we're supposed to go next?"

"Yeah." Leo looked intently at the book. "Where exactly can we find this minor god?"

"No!" Akmon shrieked. "You can't take it back to him! If he finds out we stole it-"

"He'll destroy you." Jason guessed. "Which is what we'll do if you don't tell us, and we're a lot closer." He pressed the point of his sword against Akmon's furry throat with Percy doing the same to Passalos.

"Okay, okay!" Akmon yelped. "La Casa Nera! Calle Frezzeria!"

"Is that an address?" Lily asked.

The dwarfs nodded vigorously. "Please don't tell him we stole it," Passalos begged. "He isn't nice at all."

"Who is he?" Jason asked. "What god?"

"I-I can't say," Passalos stammered.

"You'd better," Percy said warningly.

"No," Passalos whined. "I mean, I really can't say. I can't pronounce it! Tr- tri- It's too hard!"

"Truh," Akmon tried. "Tru-toh- Too many syllables."

They both burst into tears.

Percy and Jason backed up and eyed them weirdly while Frank looked startled, almost dropping Emily. The twelve-year-old dropped to the floor and winced at the loud crying.

Jason and Percy lowered their swords. "What do you want to do with them, Leo? Send them to Tartarus?" Jason asked.

"Please, no!" Akmon wailed. "It might take us weeks to come back."

"Assuming Gaea even lets us!" Passalos sniffled pathetically. "She controls the Doors of Death now. She'll be very cross with us."

Leo stared at the wall thoughtfully, rubbing his hand across his chin. "Nothing can slow them down," he mused. "I wonder…"

The rest of the demigods exchanged confused looks. "What?" they asked in unison. Lily bore holes into the side of her dad's head, wondering what he was thinking.

Leo looked back towards the dwarfs. "I'll make you a deal."

Akmon's eyes lit up. "Thirty percent?"

"We'll leave you all your treasure," Leo explained. "Except the stuff that belongs to us, and the astrolabe, and this book, which we'll take back to the dude in Venice."

"But he'll destroy us!" Passalos cried.

"We won't say where we got it," Leo soothingly promised. "And we won't kill you. We'll let you go free."

"Dad? What are you doing?" Lily asked only to be ignored.

Akmon squealed happily. "I knew you were as smart as Hercules! I will call you Black Bottom, the Sequel!"

Lily, Percy, and Emily giggled instantly at that as Leo adopted a revolted look on his face.

"Yeah, no thanks." Leo denied. "But in return for us sparing your lives, you have to do something for us. I'm going to send you somewhere to steal from some people, harass them, make life hard for them anyway you can. You have to follow my directions exactly. You have to swear on the River Styx."

"We swear!" Passalos said as Lily started grinning, understanding dawning on her. "Stealing from people is our specialty!"

"I love harassment!" Akmon agreed. "Where are we going?"

Leo rubbed his hands together evilly as he grinned. "Ever heard of New York?"

"Oh, you're not?" Percy breathed, excitement visible.

"Poor Reyna," Jason shook his head.

"I love this plan!" Emily and Lily said in unison.

The group turned to fully face the suddenly nervous dwarfs and grinned maniacally.

"Here's the plan."

HermioneChase - _Thank you! Um, no promises?_

aaquater - _Bob has excellent timing, doesn't he? Silena is usually the punching bag, she got it from Jason. Bob is fazed by absolutely nothing, he's seen waaaaaay too much in his life. After all, the Underworld has so many dead people in it with so many different backgrounds and lives I'm sure he's heard and seen just about everything. Thank you!_

Jaspercabeth22 - _Aw, thanks! I'm glad you like my sense of humor. I don't pick favorites out of my OC's, simply because I love all of them, but it's perfectly okay that Charlie and Silena are your favorites. I am indeed a part of the Harry Potter family, I've been in the Potter Fandom for seven years now, I believe. I have considered writing a Harry Potter fic but I don't want to take on too many projects at once. I might do one after the FTS series is finished but it would be a completely different plot, storyline, characters, etc. Thanks so much for reviewing, bye!_

DarkHero12 - _Thanks, it's good to be back._

EspeonAuraGirl55 - _Lol, you're one of two people besides me to comment on FTS's first birthday, so thanks for that! I love Bob too. And yes, Silena does get injured the most. I figured that would be the one thing Jason would pass down to his children that they would despise. Charlie was always meant to be this sarcastic but warm person who is unfailingly loyal but overbearingly protective. I wanted him to have faults that were similar but not a carbon copy to Percy's. Charlie is his own messed up person and his family loves him for that. Not to mention he is still a Chase, and it has been well documented that the Chase family is full of witty, brave, and sometimes suicidal heroes. This series has been an absolute pleasure to write. If I was ever down and feeling sad all I had to do was look at all the kind and funny reviews you and everybody else has left me over the past year. Thank you so much for standing by me and not giving up on me or this story. Love you, see you next chapter._

Moonlight22qu - _That's so awesome, thanks! I've been checking out your story too, even if I haven't reviewed. And I have to say that you are doing very well, your quips make me look like an amateur, lol. The bag was a stroke of genius too, good work! Thanks for reviewing!_

Didi - _Yeah, life doesn't make writing fanfiction easy. What letter are you talking about? Are you talking about the one Annabeth sends? Cause if so, no, it will be a different letter. Bye!_


	9. Silena II

**Sorry bout the weirdness! But I needed to see what would happen! Hopefully you'll get the email for this chapter. And for those of you who don't know, I posted another chapter to A Helping of Missing Moments! So, if you want to know what Will is doing with the younger kids, go check it out!**

* * *

Silena was dreaming. But at least this one was useful, even if it was only calming down her worry over her younger brother and baby cousins.

 _Silena found herself standing in front of Camp Half-Blood hill, overlooking the entrance. Sitting imposingly in front of the camp was a mass of tents, all colored a deep purple with well armoured teens moving between them._

 _It was the Romans, waiting for their chance to take out the Greeks. She sighed at them and turned, making her way into camp. Just as she took two steps down the hill into camp, she appeared in the meeting room._

 _All of the cabin counselors were in the room. Lou Ellen, the Stolls, and Katie Gardener were clustered around each other, the Stolls telling some kind of story that had the two girls shaking their heads at them. Clarisse was seated next to them, glaring at the Stolls while sharpening a knife._

 _Will, Malcolm, and Nyssa were sat beside each other and had Gemma, Zoe, and Gabby in their laps respectively. The three little girls seemed to be dozing off in the arms of their relatives. Chiron, who was at the head of the table in his wheelchair, was talking to Louis with an amused look. The six year had managed to climb up on the table to look the centaur in the eye it seemed. The twins were fast asleep in a extra large bassinet in between Will and Chiron._

 _Clovis was snoring away in his chair on the other side of Chiron, almost falling out of it. Drew Tanaka was beside him painting her nails and scowling at Louis. Pollux and Butch were quietly talking, occasionally sending the kids affectionate looks._

 _Chiron suddenly shook his head at the six-year-old in front of him and plucked him off the table, holding him in his lap. "Are we finally ready?"_

" _I think so," Will answered as he smiled down at his drowsy daughter._

" _Good, then we shall begin." Chiron said. "We need to find a place to keep these little ones. The current situation is not working."_

" _Not working?" Drew scoffed, glaring harder at Louis who stuck his tongue out at her. "That little brat destroyed all of my clothes! With lightning!"_

 _The aforementioned grandson of Zeus simply smiled innocently and snuggled into Chiron. The Stolls immediately laughed while Will snickered quietly._

" _Be that as it may," Chiron ignored Drew's anger and continued. "I thought it best for the younglings to be kept together and a few camp counselors would take care of them. They would, of course, stay in the Big House."_

" _We'll do it." Nyssa easily volunteered herself along with Will and Malcolm. She shot Will a grin as she played with Gabby's fingers. "After all, one of us is already a parent to one of them."_

 _Will rolled his eyes but nodded his agreement, gently rocking Gemma as she finally fell asleep against his chest. Malcolm just shrugged and watched Zoe play with the water in the glass in front of him._

" _They're so powerful." Pollux said, watching Zoe show off her powers as well. "I've never seen a five-year-old show such control."_

" _It makes sense though." Malcolm mused to himself._

 _Pollux raised an eyebrow. "How?"_

 _Malcolm pointed at the kids as he talked, explaining his point. "Grandson of Aphrodite and Zeus. Granddaughter of Athena and Poseidon. Granddaughter of Hades and Apollo, even if she's just adopted I'm fairly certain they had a magical adoption, allowing the godly grandparents to bestow their new grandkids with powers. Same with the twins, they're the magically adopted grandsons of Bellona. And finally the granddaughter of Hephaestus and Atlas the Titan. They, along with their older siblings, are probably some of the most powerful legacies alive"_

 _Will nodded before adding to the explanation. "The older ones are actually more powerful than these guys. Apparently Athena and Hecate gave them a boost before they came to the past."_

 _Katie Gardener shivered slightly, staring at the kids warily. "That's kinda terrifying. Imagine if they went dark side."_

 _Clarisse snorted at her comment before an enraged Will had the chance to chew Miranda out. "As if. Can any of you believe someone with Jackson's genetics being evil, or any of the others for that matter? Stubbornness and stupidity runs through those veins, not evil. Have some common freaking sense." she grumbled as she went back to sharpening her knife._

 _Katie blushed brightly from embarrassment and went quiet, especially after seeing the nod Will sent Clarisse. Silena snickered at the scene as a tugging in her stomach let her know she was waking up._

Silena blinked rapidly as she woke up, her body rebelling at the idea of getting up but her stomach rejoicing at the delicious smell of barbecue.

"Lena, check it out. I think it's food from camp." Charlie's voice drifted into her ears, prompting her to sit up. The blond was crouched at the statue of Hermes, cheerfully eating some brisket.

Silena pulled herself to her feet and walked over to her cousin, spotting their Titan guide happily eating some Peanut M&M's. Charlie offered her the rest of his brisket and wiped his hands on his jeans. He had apparently changed out of his tattered clothes and into new jeans and a t-shirt.

"It just showed up a little bit after I woke up." Charlie explained, looking around. "Bob says we've been asleep for about five hours."

Silena rubbed her eyes. "It didn't feel like five hours, more like five minutes."

Charlie grimaced at her words. "Yeah, I feel the same. The nightmares didn't help." she gave him a questioning look and he rolled his eyes. "Our entire family dying, camp burning to the ground, and the world plunged into darkness and misery. Y'know, all the greatest hits."

Silena snorted before nodding. "I dreamed too, but it was actually good." Charlie gave her a puzzled look and she explained her dream, Charlie snickering madly at Louis's antics.

"He always has hated fashion, ironically enough." Charlie said with a grin.

"Anyway," Silena changed the subject as she finished the plate of brisket. "When are we setting off again?"

"Now," Bob answered, frowning at something in the distance. "They will be here in a few minutes."

The two legacies shared an uneasy look. "Who's they?" Charlie asked.

"Titans and giants," Bob frowned harder. "Six, maybe seven of them. Should be here in a few minutes, I _think."_

"Can they sense you?" Silena asked as she grabbed her pack and pulled it on, Charlie copying her.

"Don't know," Bob said, suddenly smiling. "Bob is different! But they can smell demigods, yes. You two smell very strong. Good strong. Like…hmm. Like buttery bread!"

"Buttery bread," Charlie muttered. "That's one that I haven't heard before..."

Silena looked to Charlie. "Is it even possible to kill a giant in Tartarus? I mean, it's not like have a god to help us."

Charlie just shrugged helplessly and pulled out Riptide, pulling the cap off before putting it to the hilt of the sword. As it shrunk back down to its pen form, this time with the writing point exposed, Silena cocked an eyebrow curiously.

"What are you doing?" she asked her older cousin curiously.

"Something I should have done earlier but didn't remember until right now." he grumbled as he pulled out a napkin and began writing on it.

Figuring he'd tell her later, Silena turned back to Bob. "Any idea where we're going? Charlie explained where he have to go right?"

Bob nodded his head. "Yes, to the heart of Tartarus so that you can cast some magic on a rift."

"And then close the doors of death." Silena agreed, giving him a thumbs up. "So, where are we going?"

Bob pointed at an ominous, stormy wall of darkness that Silena had hoped to avoid. "That way. Into the Dark Lands, The Doors of Death…hmm, walking straight to them would be bad. Too many monsters gathered there. Even Bob could not sweep that many. They would kill Charlie and Silena in about two seconds." he scratched his silvery hair, squinting slightly. "I _think_ seconds. Time is hard in Tartarus."

"Right," Silena stared at the wall of darkness. "Any other ways?"

"Hiding." Bob answered. "The Death Mist could hide you."

Silena scrunched her nose. She had been hoping to avoid that after hearing Percy and Annabeth's horror story about it. Charlie materialized next her, evidently done with whatever it was he had been doing.

"Sounds like fun." Charlie said easily, adjusting the straps of his bag. "Seems like a winner."

"What about Night?" Silena asked him.

Charlie waved her off, looking far too confident for a guy stuck in hell. "It'll be fine."

Bob interrupted them. "We should go. Now."

"Right," the duo agreed, following after the titan. As they walked away from the alter Tartarus's atmosphere began to affect her again. The humid, depressing weight tugged at her again and she realized the Hermes's alter had been shielding them, allowing them to recuperate.

Charlie seemed to feel it too if his pained grimace was anything to go by. "This sucks," he muttered to her, running his hands through his hair.

"At least _you_ got to change clothes." she gestured at her own ripped-to-shreds outfit.

Charlie snickered and nodded in agreement. "Sorry bout that. If we'd had more time…"

"Shoulda, coulda, woulda." she shrugged. She was far too involved in not dying to care about her state of dress.

Silence fell between them, both of them thinking intently. Silena looked around, taking in their surrounds not for the first time. While Tartarus was still dark, damp, and humid, it also managed to give off an aura of sheer terror. The only reason Silena wasn't curled up in the fetal position was because she was used to being in a constant state of perpetual terror.

The life of a demigod wasn't exactly good for a person's mental health. Not that she was complaining, but, well she was complaining. Mostly because it was really the only thing to do in hell. It was kinda boring, actually.

If you could ignore the roaring of monsters in the distance, the fact that you couldn't see five feet in front of your face, and the less than ideal conditions; it was really mind-numbing.

Just as she thought that she tripped and scrambled to catch herself, resorting to grabbing Charlie's arm and almost bringing him down with her. The blond gave a slight yelp and managed to stabilize both of them.

"What the hell?" he asked, staring at the ground .

She turned to look where he was staring and had to repress a yelp of her own. The thing she had tripped over was what she thought looked like a pimple on the ground, in it a slumbering Titan. It was Hyperion, if she remembered the description right from the stories Percy and Annabeth always told the kids about them fighting off Kronos and his army in Manhattan.

"That's not good." Charlie observed, the hand on her arm tightening being the only clue he gave that the Titan was making him concerned.

To their left Bob frowned at the Titan, confusion pouring off of him. Silena mentally cursed. Annabeth had warned them that Bob would be confused when seeing other Titans, as a result of the memory-loss. They would have to play this very carefully.

"Gold, not silver," Bob mumbled. "But he looks like me."

"Hey, Bob, over here. Look at me." Charlie instructed softly, stepping closer the Titan.

Reluctantly, Bob turned and looked Charlie. Her older cousin stared at him straight in the face, eyes unreadable.

"We're friends?" Charlie asked. "We've been friends for a few months now, right? Since we visited you in the underworld that first time?"

Bob nodded. "You said Friend Percy couldn't visit because of the goddess lady, so you came instead."

"That's right," Charlie said soothingly, Silena recognizing the tone he was using. It was the same one he always had when talking to any sort of child under the age of three. "I came in my dad's place. Because you're important to us."

It was true. Percy and Annabeth had told them about Bob countless time, always singing his praises with a wistful look on their faces. Annabeth had admitted to Silena once that out of all of the horrible choices she's ever made as a demigod, leaving Bob behind was easily the worst.

Silena hoped she and Charlie would be able to change that.

Bob nodded at Charlie again, who gave him one of his patented 'I Have No What I'm Doing But I Hope It Works' smiles.

"Okay," Charlie said. "And you know how some monsters are good, and some are bad, right?"

"Hmm…" Bob said. "Like…the pretty ghost ladies who serve Persephone are good. Exploding zombies are bad."

"Right," Charlie agreed, not even batting an eye at the mention of exploding zombies. "And some humans are good and some are bad. The same thing is true for Titans."

"Titans…" Bob squared his shoulders, the janitor tensing up at the word. Silena shifted uneasily but kept her faith in Charlie.

"That's what you are." Charlie ignored the impending danger and kept talking. "Bob the Titan, our friend. You're a good guy, an amazing one in fact. You jumped down here for us after all. But this guy, Hyperion, he's bad to the core. He tried to kill my dad...he actually tried to kill a lot of people."

Bob blinked his eyes, shifting uncomfortably. "But he looks...his face is so-"

"He looks like you," Charlie agreed, keeping his tone firm. "He's a Titan, like you. But the difference is that you're good."

"Bob is good." Despite it being a statement it came off more as a question. Poor Bob looked so confused, his hand tightening and untightening on his broom handle.

Silena finally stepped forward. "Yes, you are. You're very good, Bob."

"Bob is good." he repeated, sounding more confident and sure this time. "Yes, there is always at least one good one- monsters, Titans, Giants."

"Exactly," Charlie grinned up at him. "You've got it."

With that crisis averted Silena glanced back at the pimple-Titan and eyed it with concern. "Okay, what're we gonna do about him?"

Charlie looked back and scratched the back of his head. "I don't know. Bob, it's your call. He's your kind, what would you like to do? We can leave him alone, but if he wakes up-"

Bob abruptly swung his broom downwards, the gleaming bronze tip poking out just before he made contact with the re-generating Titan. The blister exploded, hot golden mud shot out of it, going everywhere. Including the two legacies.

Silena wiped liquid Titan off her face and watched Charlie grimace in disgust as he tried getting it out of his hair. Bob stood beside them, broom in hand.

"Hyperion is a bad Titan," Bob explained, his expression thunderous. "Now he can't hurt my friends. He will have to re-form somewhere else in Tartarus. Hopefully it will take a long time."

Bob's lip quivered slightly, his eyes brighter than usual. The Titan looked like he wanted to cry but was fighting it off.

"Thank you, Bob." Silena said sincerely, laying a hand on his arm. He bobbed his head but stayed quiet.

"We'd better get going." Charlie said grimly after he laid his hand on Bob's opposite arm and squeezed comfortingly.

The three of them started walking again, this time quieter and sadder than before, only leaving behind a smoking creator.

* * *

 **Okay! Here's the actual chapter! I'm sorry if I got some peoples hopes up with the announcement but at least this one came out a few days after, right? Anyways, in this chapter you got to see how the younger kids are, a surprise appearance by Will, and Bob's dilemma. How was it? Let me know in the reviews!**

 **Now I have no idea when the next chapter will be posted but I will try to have another one out before the end of the month, no promises though!**

 **Also promotion time! I have a an original book I'm working on with my cousin, her name's Luka. The first two chapters are out on fictionpress right now! Please go check it, we can use all the love and support you guys are willing to give xD. All links are in my bio, the book is called Catch Me!**

Youngid (Guest) - _Thank you! That's a very awesome compliment!_

EspeonAuraGirl55 - _Thank you! It feels good to be back! I've had to reread so much PJO and HOO stuff in the last year and a half that it blows my mind. Lost Hero wasn't really my favorite either, though Leo was definitely my favorite part of it. Thank you, thank you! See you next chapter!_

Moonlight22qu - _You honestly flatter me too much, lol. But I'm glad you enjoy my series so much. How's your story going? You working hard?_

aaquater - _I don't think the Italians really cared that much. They've probably seen weirder. Lily is terrifying, isn't she? And Emily and Lily are both major pyros, it drives the responsible family members absolutely bonkers._

The-Fire-In-Heart - _Oh, no! Not the pitch forks! Anything but that! I fulfilled half your demand, lol. You've gotten a full chapter of Silena, Charlie, and Bob. Are you happy with me?_

DarkHero12 - _Thanks! Yeah, I couldn't really find anything I could change for that chapter so I just kinda rolled with it. I actually liked the original chapter a lot too._

Didi - _Okay, thank you for clarifying! How've you been? How'd you like the chapter? This one had a bit more action than the last one, lol._


	10. Emily I Charlie III

**Sooooooo funny thing, I actually got a full time job that has slowly taken over my whole life :D. But I'm getting money and I actually have more friends now! Anyway I'm just trying to say that I literally have no time for anything anymore. Regardless on with the chapter!**

* * *

Emily could admit that she was a little jealous of Lily. But only because the older girl had set off explosives without Emily being present. She at least got to go out with her parents and Uncle Nico though.

But Venice was beautiful, that was for sure. As she walked the streets she could almost envision herself just being on vacation with her parents and uncle. It was tinted with bittersweetness though, after all she knew that she'd never get to go on an actual vacation with her family.

With their bloodline, the monsters would never leave them alone.

Zack had been offered the chance to go with the four of them to investigate The Black House but had turned it down after watching Nico's expression go impossibly blank.

Her poor cousin just sighed and seemed to cuddle up to Jason, who winced for his nephew. Percy threw the son of Hades a dirty look and kidnapped Zack, siting a sudden need to play poker. Annabeth, Lily and Ethan quickly followed, leaving Leo to dole out jobs to everyone else remaining on the Argo ll.

Emily just rolled her eyes. Honestly, when was her uncle gonna get with the program? None of the other parents had freaked out as badly as he currently was.

She definitely could've done without the weird cows though.

They were everywhere in Venice. Each monster was about the size of a cow, with a bowed back like a broken-down horse, matted gray fur, skinny legs, and black cloven hooves. The cow lookalikes' heads seemed much too heavy for their necks. Their long, anteater-like snouts drooped to the ground. Their overgrown gray manes completely covered their eyes.

Emily decidedly did not like them.

"Well, they're plant eaters," her dad said, observing them eating some kind of root.

"That's good news," Hazel said as she held Frank's hand. "Unless they supplement their diet with demigods. Let's hope not."

Frank got a goofy look on his face that Emily smiled at seeing. Even twenty years into the future, her dad got the same starstruck look on his face whenever her mother walked into a room. It was nice to see something familiar in place that was so foreign to her.

Nico suddenly stopped. "There." he pointed.

Ahead of them was a small plaza lined with five-story buildings. The area was strangely deserted—as if the mortals could sense it wasn't safe. In the middle of the cobblestone courtyard, a dozen shaggy cow creatures were sniffing around the mossy base of an old stone well.

"A lot of cows in one place," Frank said.

"Yeah, but look," Nico said. "Past that archway."

Emily looked to where Nico was pointing and hummed. At the far end of the plaza, a stone archway carved with lions led into a narrow street. Just past the arch, one of the town houses was painted black. She figured that's where they needed to go, considering it was the only black building she'd seen in Venice.

"La Casa Nera," her dad guessed.

Her mother shifted uneasily, tightening her grip on Frank's hand. "I don't like that plaza. It feels...cold."

Emily felt it too, cold aura penetrating her. She sidestepped into her dad, feeling a shiver go down her spine.

"You're right, Hazel." Nico agreed, eyeing the the town house windows. "This neighborhood is filled with _lemures_."

"Lemurs?" Frank asked nervously. "I'm guessing you don't mean the furry little guys from Madagascar?"

"Angry ghosts," Nico said. " _Lemures_ go back to Roman times. They hang around a lot of Italian cities, but I've never felt so many in one place. My mom told me…" He hesitated. "She used to tell me stories about the ghosts of Venice."

"Nico, your mom was Italian?" Frank asked hesitantly. "She was from Venice?"

Emily winced. One of Nico's sore spots was his mother. The other two were his sister, Bianca, and his sexuality. Though Will had done a lot to change the last one, it was still a sore spot. Emily could only imagine what her uncle would do pre-Will.

Nico nodded reluctantly. "She met Hades here, back in the 1930s. As World War Two got closer, she fled to the U.S. with my sister and me. I mean…Bianca, my other sister. I don't remember much about Italy, but I can still speak the language."

"Must've been hard on your mom," Frank said, curling his arm around Emily. "I guess we'll do anything for someone we love."

Hazel sighed softly, moving her free hand to Emily's shoulder. Nico stared at the cobblestones. "Yeah," he said bitterly. "I guess we will."

Emily let the silence hang for a few seconds before piping up. "How do we avoid the _lemures_?"

"I'm already on it," Nico answered. "I'm sending out the message that they should stay away and ignore us. Hopefully that's enough. Otherwise…things could get messy."

Hazel pursed her lips. "Let's get going," she said, prompting Emily to start walking.

Halfway across the piazza, everything went wrong; but it had nothing to do with ghosts.

They were skirting the well in the middle of the square, trying to give the cow monsters some distance, when Hazel stumbled on a loose piece of cobblestone. Frank caught her. Six or seven of the big gray beasts turned to look at them. Emily glimpsed a glowing green eye under one's mane, and instantly she was hit with a wave of nausea, the way she felt when Zack shadow traveled with her too many times in a row..

The creatures made deep throbbing sounds in their throats like angry foghorns.

"Nice cows," Frank murmured. He tugged Emily behind him and shifted to the front of the group. "Guys, I'm thinking we should back out of here slowly."

"I'm such a klutz," Hazel whispered, clutching Emily close. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault," Nico said. "Look at your feet."

Emily glanced at their feet and scowled. The paving stones were moving—spiky plant tendrils were pushing up from the cracks.

Nico stepped back. The roots snaked out in his direction, trying to follow. The tendrils got thicker, exuding a steamy green vapor that smelled of boiled cabbage.

"Well, those roots seem to like us," Emily said, hugging her mom.

Hazel's free hand drifted to her sword hilt. "And the cow creatures like the roots."

The entire herd was now looking their direction, making foghorn growls and stamping their hooves. Emily backed up even further, her hand moving to her necklace, ready to pull out her bow.

"Don't meet their eyes," Frank warned. "I'll distract them. You two back up slowly toward that black house."

The creatures tensed, ready to attack. Emily pulled out her bow.

"Never mind," Frank said. "Run!"

* * *

Charlie regretted going sideways.

After walking for what seemed like hours and picking up an adorable kitten that had adopted their Titan (who instantly named the kitten Small Bob), Charlie had finally relaxed. Nothing had attacked them in what felt like a day, Bob had destroyed Hyperion, and they'd picked up a companion.

All seemed to be going well, despite after them going sideways the air got thicker and colder. Silena had instantly cozied up to Charlie, the rips in her clothes preventing them from retaining any heat.

So naturally that's when it all fell apart.

It started with Charlie's instincts going haywire. The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up, goosebumps ran up his arm and his stomach clenched as if saying _this is not gonna be good_.

He placed a hand on a nearby tree trunk and hissed for his two teammates to be still. Silena went stalk straight and stared at him, waiting for her cue. Bob looked wary as he glanced around, his broom already poised.

The trunk under Charlie's hand quivered, almost like it too was afraid of what was glaring at them from the darkness. He could feel eyes on him, watching his every move.

A few yards away, another tree shuddered.

"Something's above us," Charlie said sharply. "Stack up, on me."

The three of them closed ranks, back to back. They all nervously kept their eyes on the tree line, Charlie upcapping Riptide. The bronze glow barely pierced through the thick darkness.

Nothing moved. Charlie still stayed tense. He could feel in every atom of his being that something was out there. And a second later, he was proved right.

The first monster dropped in front of him, like a demon out of a horror movie. A wrinkled hag with dangerous talons, batlike wings, and some kind of goo dripping out of her mouth. Charlie met the creatures eyes and matched its red eyed glare. She wore an almost destroyed dress of black silk, her face twisted with displeasure and hate.

Another one landed in front of Bob, the titan taking a half step back. A third crouched in front of Silena. The granddaughter of Zeus simply raised her daggers and bent her knees.

Soon there were half a dozen surrounding them, with an unknown number hissing furiously in the trees. Charlie gritted his teeth and shifted uneasily. Now he knew where they were. Right on time too.

"Charlie," Silena murmured lowly. "Are they…?"

"Yes, they are." Charlie answered, eyeing one that got a bit too close.

Silena huffed. "Well, this is gonna be fun."

Charlie fought off a sudden smirk at her words. "Try not to die."

Silena hummed in agreement. "I'd say see you in hell, but...we're already here."

Charlie rolled his eyes before focusing on an increasingly more furious monster. "And what, pray tell, have we done to get a visit from you, demon ladies?"

The demon ladies growled at him. _You've entered our domain! We, the curses, will destroy you a thousand times in the name of the Mother Night!_

Charlie arched an eyebrow. "You know, you should really come up with some original lines. The whole 'we will destroy you!' thing was so last year."

The angry mob of demon ladies pounced, clearly displeased with Charlie's sass. The three of them burst into action. Charlie somersaulted away and landed in a crouch, talons bouncing off Riptide's blade as he gathered his footing. Silena fell into a split and rolled underneath the demons, looking like a ballet dancer as she twirled away.

Bob was brandishing his spear, weaving around in an attempt to stay away from his attackers. Small Bob vanished into the confines of Big Bob's janitor uniform, small meows being heard from the vicinity of the armpit.

 _We are the_ arai, the voiceover said, sounding like slime oozing over a smooth surface. _You cannot destroy us._

Silena appeared next to his shoulder. "Don't touch them," she warned, voice loud enough for Bob to hear. "They're the spirits of curses."

"Bob doesn't like curses." Bob announced. The titan swept his broom in a wide arc, forcing the spirits back, but they came in again like nothing happened.

Charlie swung wide, aiming to deter rather than puncture. The monster lurched back with a hiss, angry red eyes burning holes into him.

 _We serve the bitter and the defeated,_ said the arai. _We serve the slain who prayed for vengeance with their final breath. We have many curses to share with you._

"Sorry," Charlie said as he backflipped away from a swipe of talons. "But my mother would be angry with me if I accepted curses from strangers."

A shriek of fury alerted him to duck before he became minced meat. He instinctively raised Riptide, the demon gave him what seemed like a smug look as the sword passed through her. As soon as she vaporized Charlie bit back a swear and clutched a hand to his side.

It came back wet and red. Silena grimaced as she looked as his sudden wound. "How are we gonna win this? Uncle Percy never told us how."

Charlie shifted to be back to back with her again. "I don't know."

 _You cannot defeat us!_ the arai whispered. _We are eternal, everlasting. You cause so much pain, Charlie Jackson. Much like your father._

Charlie ignored the demon ladies and backed further. His side throbbed horribly, blood slowly spreading through his shirt. The stab wound was pretty deep, inches away from the bottom of his right lung.

One of the demons lunged for Silena, who raised her dagger and stabbed the old lady in the gut. She exploded and Silena cried out in pain. Blood seeped from her hair line, red dripping down her face and falling to the floor.

"Silena!" Charlie panicked. "Bob, cover us!"

The titan did as he ordered, sweeping his broom in wide arcs to keep the swarm of monsters off of them. Charlie dropped his sword and held Silena's face in his hands, worriedly looking at the head wound.

A big cut disappeared into her hair, an angry bruise surrounding it. Silena blinked rapidly trying to focus on Charlie.

"I think you have a concussion." Charlie wiped some of the blood of her cheeks and pulled off his shirt, pressing the fabric to her head. "Keep that there."

He grabbed Riptide again and started helping Bob keep their enemies at bay. He took a deep breath and felt a sudden wave of calm wash over him. He searched within himself for that inner strength that Athena had unlocked in him.

His senses tingled and he ducked, a stray monster sailing over his head after lunging for him. To his left Bob smacked one in the chest, it exploding immediately afterwards. Charlie waited for the curse to affect him and grinned brightly when he seemed fine.

"Bob!" he said happily. "You're immune!"

The titan beamed. "Yes, Bob is! Stay back, I will take care of these bad monsters!"

The _arai_ snarled and circled, eying the broom. _The Titan is already cursed. Why should we torture him further? Your father, Percy Jackson, has already destroyed his memory._

The broom wobbled. Bob turned to Charlie, eyes wide and hurt. "My memory...it was him?"

Charlie mentally cursed. He had to play this right or he and Silena were screwed. "Yes, it was. But the only reason he did it was because he didn't want to fight you. He wanted to be your friend."

 _Curse him, Titan!_ the _arai_ urged, their red eyes gleaming. _Add to our numbers!_

Charlie's heart raced, his mind flittering through various plans he came up with on the spot. Silena moaned next to him, slumping a little as she blinked tiredly. "Bob, please, Silena's hurt and I can't protect her without you. _Please,_ I'm sorry that my dad did that to you, but you're an awesome guy who helps his friends. That's the titan I want as my friend."

 _He stole your life,_ the _arai_ hissed like a devil on Bob's shoulder. _Reduced you to being the_ help.

"Charlie," Silena mumbled, "help."

He hugged her to him, locking eyes with Bob. "I can't control you, I won't pretend like I can. But I am your friend. Help us, please."

"He never visited me, he stole my memories." Bob said, angry and hurt swirling in his gaze. "Percy is not a good friend."

"I know," Charlie said firmly. "But he's not here. _We_ are, and we need your help."

 _He is Percy Jackson's son. He is no better than his_ _father._ The demon ladies murmured. _Just step back and let us deal with them._

Bob stayed silent, expression unreadable. Charlie held his breath, the wound on his side throbbing like mad. The titan bowed his head and took a step back. Charlie let out loud swear and raised Riptide.

The _arai_ attacked, and this time Bob did nothing.

* * *

 **And that was it for chapter ten! What did you think about? Love it, hate it, didn't really care? Leave me a review and tell me about it! I'll do my best to answer everyone's reviews! Also I'm writing this at midnight, eating Doritos and drinking fruit juice, I also have work early the next morning. How is this my life?**

 **Comic out!**

aaquater - _I unintentionally gave Silena horrible luck and now it's just become a permanent thing, lol. I'm glad I made you uncomfortable, I guess? See ya next chapter!_

EspeonAuraGirl55 - _Sadly, I can neither confirm nor deny anything involving Bob. You'll just have to wait and see. Okay, so, magical adoption. Basically, Lou Ellen found a really old spell that involves blood from both of the adopting parents and blessings from the godly adoptive grandparents. They did this to all five kids that were adopted, allowing them to look like their parents and share their powers. Was that easy enough to follow? Or do I have to go more in-depth? Also, yeah, I did. I'll fix it later, lol. And remember, Leo has no clue who Lily's mother is specifically for that reason. So, no, that's gonna be the same as it was before. And Will and Nico, well, you'll just have to wait and see like with Bob._

Moonlightqu- _Writers block is terrible, trust me, I feel your pain. You're so nice! Your reviews always make me blush! See ya!_

Didi - _Haha, I hated school too. We might be, if we ever finish the damn thing. Luka, my co-author, has already made some awesome cover art for it. But if that ever happens I will definitely post something here so you guys will be in the know. Relaxing was kinda where I was going with last chapter cause I've written so much angst for this lately, lol. Sadly, I'm not an artist so I can't provide you with your art that you so desperately want. However if anyone_ wants _to make art, I would be perfectly fine with that. Thanks! I'm trying my hardest to keep to Uncle Rick's style without it being a carbon copy of his books. I've actually been really good, my summer has been going pretty well. My friends keep dragging me out of the house, which is really nice. I'm glad you're doing well! I can't have one of my favorite reviewer's feeling sad. See ya next chapter!_

masspao - _Thank you! I'm trying really hard to update as fast as I can but unfortunately I don't have a ton of free time anymore._


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